


In an Ocean of Gold

by kitkattz



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/F, Interspecies Relationship, M/M, Mentioned Assault, Mermaids, Merstuck, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sexual Content, Sirens, Trauma, mentioned non-con, mentioned physical trauma, mentioned sexual trauma, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:22:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 39,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23760760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkattz/pseuds/kitkattz
Summary: Dirk Strider finally managed to escape his family of blonde, people-eating assholes, determined to keep humans off the menu and out of his life in general, only to be caught by a fishing net during the night. Jake English has been avoiding the ocean for three years after narrowly escaping a siren, and he has no shame for his prejudice and fear. It seems they both have some things to learn about one another, the chance meeting fated to bring them closer than either had ever dared.
Relationships: Jade Harley/Roxy Lalonde, Jake English/Dirk Strider
Comments: 51
Kudos: 83





	1. Introductions

Jake rounded the corner to the shoreline, pace slowing down to almost that of a snail's. He hated this, hated going down to the shore, but Grandma couldn't tend the lines anymore, and Jade had gone off to college already, so it was left up to him. If the nets were on any other section of the beach, that would be fine, he might be able to deal with that.

But not here.

Not now.

His grandmother had asked if he was alright to go today, and he had lied, put on a fake front in order to not put her in harms way. But, as usual, it was too much.

He couldn't get any closer to the water, he realized, sitting down in the sand and taking an unsteady breath. He drew his knees up to his chest, arms holding them there tightly, trying to squeeze the fear out of him. He felt like he would throw up, eyes clenched shut. Jake let his breakfast go in the jungle brush at the edge of the trail, coughing violently and shaking before standing again on quaking legs, net knife held in one hand, picking up the cooler again with the other.

Bloody fucking hell, he needed to be done with this, get it out of his mind... But he knew he couldn't. He could still feel those clawed hands, see those dark eyes. There was still a double-crescent scar on his throat where the creature had marked him with its rows of dagger-sharp teeth. There were still the emotional scars that Jake feared would never let him get close to anyone except his family. 

He couldn't trust anyone.

He had only tried to be nice, he was trying to befriend it. Was it his fault? No, Grandma said it wasn't, that those kinds of creatures were savage and untrustworthy. Why hadn't he listened? She warned him not to go past where they laid the nets, she _warned_ him, told him that there were water monsters, and he didn't listen.

He had been so sure that everything had a sliver of good, that every creature that lived on this earth was based on kindness, on goodness. That experience made them bad, but they could be brought back. _He was only trying to be nice._

Jake struggled to shake the thoughts away, struggled to suppress the memories, and stepped forward. This was an everyday occurrence, shouldn't he be used to it by now? He shouldn't be so scared, right? He... Didn't know.

The distant clunking of the net's crank thrummed to life, and he cursed quietly. Again! He was late supervising the crank again! _That's the third time the week, English!_ he berated himself mentally, dashing through the sand, as close to the brush as he could so as to not even be remotely in range of the water.

As he neared the crank, and the net, however, he stopped. There was something caught in it, something _big_. Fuck, it better not be a shark, Jake thought to himself. He had dealt with one a while back, and it was a hell of gnashing teeth and swinging tail fins, and that had only been a small one. He hoped it was only a dolphin. He stopped dead in his tracks as a flash of orange showed just under the water, the crank tugging the net into ever shallower water.

_No. No, no, no. Let it be a shark, good lord, please, let it be a shark, not one of them!_ Jake prayed, faith coming back in a single fell swoop. If there was a God, would He let that happen again? Jake hoped not, prayed to whatever entity may or may not be out there that the thing caught on the net wasn't what he thought. 

He wouldn't be able to handle that, there was no way he wouldn't panic.

Among the fish struggling in the net, a blonde head of hair showed just barely above the surface, and Jake's stomach knotted violently. No, not this time. He had to leave, fuck the fish in the net, he wasn't dealing with this until that thing was dead or back in the ocean. A gasped curse came from the net, and Jake very seriously considered cutting the net free instead of dealing with the situation. But he had to watch the fucking crank or the rusty old thing would tangle and the net would snap.

As the net was pulled farther onto the beach, beginning to close, Jake backed up more, fear brimming to a panicked high. Oh God, he was going to be sick. Jake forced the crank to stop, barely managing to lock it in place, and the struggling in the net stopped for a long moment before scared, orange eyes found his. He was not prepared for this, he was not at all prepared for this, and the thought of getting any closer made bile rise in his throat and his head feel far too heavy for his neck. Jake was trembling, his panic mirrored back to him by the merman currently caught in his net.

He was still partially in the water, but it was obvious that he was having trouble breathing. Their eyes remained locked for what seemed like an eternity until those orange irises flickered down to the cooler and the knife. The merman turned a sickly pale color, and Jake had to bite back the fear he had in order to try and explain.

"I-its for the fish," he managed, hating how his tone wavered. The human half of the creature looked about Jake's age, far younger than the one that had caused the damage, but he was still the same species, and that was what terrified him the most. His grandmother hadn't said 'some' are untrustworthy and savage, no, she was speaking for them as a species.

Even with that said, the merman remained as far back against the net as he could be, gills opened wide in an attempt to breath out of the water. He was wheezing, and Jake was beginning to feel guilty despite himself. He took a careful step forward, swallowing back the panic that always rose when it came to getting anywhere near the water. Each step brought to the forefront of his mind the memory of being forced against the rocks at the shoreline, being pushed painfully past his limit with no mercy, no apologies, and no regrets from the creature who had committed the act.

The sand beneath his bare feet became slowly more damp, grains sticking to the pads of his toes. It was only a reminder of when he was young, when he could make sandcastles and not worry about being dragged into the water by a monster. The fact that even the mention of the ocean was too much made him angry, angrier that he had been in a while, and he had to stop. He kneeled in front of the net, barely an arms length from the same kind of creature that had inflicted so much pain and turmoil, the same kind of creature he had been completely at the mercy of three years ago, and the same kind of creature who was looking at him with the same kind of pleading, terrified gaze he had no doubt given one of these creatures that day. Part of him wanted revenge, but the rest of him knew he would be no better than the creature who hurt him. For all he knew, the blonde in his net has done nothing wrong.

He took a deep breath, not entirely sure how he wasn't midway through a panic attack, but grateful for it nonetheless.

"I'm... Going to take the net off, okay? Just... Don't attack me or... Something," Jake mumbled, eyes remaining locked with the other as he reached for the net's clamp and tugged the contraption open, giving a hard yank that finally released the net.

The large buoy attached to it weighed the net down, and Jake was amazed that the damn thing even floated. He had to glance away a moment to get the net open, but when he looked back at the other, the merman's gaze had settled in a spot that Jake was less than comfortable with.

"You've been marked by a siren." It was a simple enough statement, meant as nothing more than a passing comment, but it made Jake go cold. He didn't answer, and it took him a moment to regain control of his hands to tug the net completely off. "Females normally don't mark."

Jake stood up, more numb than anything. Before he had gotten all the way up, however, the merman had the end of his jacket caught in a hand. Jake flinched slightly, eyeing the other's hand cautiously. Neither said anything for a moment, but when Jake finally looked back down, those orange irises were softer, watching with ever so slight concern as the garment of clothing was released from his grasp.

"Sorry, didn't mean to strike a nerve. Thanks though. For the net, I mean," Jake only then noticed the thick accent, a southern one; probably from somewhere around Texas. Jake nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm Dirk, by the way."

Jake paused, not expecting an introduction, and squatted down to be level with Dirk. "I'm Jake," he offered, still not quite comfortable being so close to the other, but figuring it would be rude to move away.

Dirk glanced over his own shoulder, tongue pressed into the side of his cheek. "I'm just gonna... Kinda get back in the water because its getting a little hard to breath up here," the comment snapped Jake out of his dazed state, and he nodded.

"Oh! Yes! Right, I forgot you probably don't have lungs, my apologies for keeping you."

"Don't need to be so formal," Dirk mumbled just before scooting back out into the tide and submerging himself in the gentle waves. Jake wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing; whether it be leaving, staying, or trying to pick up conversation again, but he took the opportunity to scoot back up onto drier sand, refusing to let even his toes touch the water's foamy edges again.

It was only a few moments before Dirk's head resurfaced, the merman resting his chin on his forearms in a ridiculously relaxed manner. Jake was no where near so calm, still suspicious of possible secret intentions. Hell, there was no reason not to be; the only interaction he had ever had with these creatures was less than pleasant.

"So... What's your deal with water?" Dirk asked, and Jake narrowed his eyes at the other. "Its pretty nice today, hell, look at Florida, everyone's out swimming. Visited last week. Water's pretty nice everywhere."

"You can't trick me, I won't let that happen again. I don't know what kind of vile plot you're trying to put into play, but it won't work. I suggest taking your game elsewhere," Jake growled, voice angry. Dirk looked up at him, expression genuinely confused before becoming hostile.

"I literally just asked what your issue is and then commented on the ocean's temperature, I didn't try to fucking lure you into the deep depths of hell, Jesus fucking Christ. I'm not a Goddamn siren, asshole," Dirk muttered, eyes rolling so hard at him that Jake was concerned they might fall out of Dirk's head.

Jake didn't apologize, didn't even respond; he held no remorse for his prejudice, as it was rightfully driven by prior mistakes. Even so, Dirk seemed more than comfortable just off the shore, and neither were willing to retreat; metaphorically nor literally. The two remained locked in a battle of will, green eyes clashing with amber for what seemed to Jake like forever. He could see those mental gears turning in Dirk's mind; he could only imagine what the other was thinking. Those eyes were watchful, careful and calculated, and Jake was uncomfortable under the intense gaze- but he couldn't let Dirk know that. He would be losing. Giving in. He couldn't have that.

Before Jake could ponder any more, Dirk had sat up in the tide, sliding back up the beach again. Jake gave him a mistrustful glance, going to scoot back in the sand.

"Hey, c'mere. Don't worry I won't try to _drag you in_ or whatever the fuck you're worried about, I just want to see the mark for a sec."

"Why? What's so bloody important about the damn thing anyway? You've mentioned it two or three times," Jake asked, still wary.

Dirk breathed a little, grumbled insult in a low tone that Jake couldn't quite pick up, and sighed. "Look, its hard for me to be out of the water, so if you'd fucking cooperate that'd be hella and then we can both get a comfortable distance the fuck away from each other, cool?"

Jake was hesitant for a moment before nodding, mentally noting that if all else fails and Dirk is lying, he had learned that grabbing the gills made them let go. Jake guessed that it was just incredibly painful, which would explain why the... _Other one_ had let him escape to shore. "Alright," he mumbled, barely managing to keep from recoiling as Dirk reached out, eyebrows drawn together in concentration and a bit of concern. Both of Dirk's hands touched down on his skin, but Jake noticed how softly Dirk patted over the area, orange eyes flicking back up to watch his face for any change.

One hand moved to push Jake's head to the side, and Jake almost protested, but that would no doubt do him no good. He could feel the fingers on Dirk's other hand moving slowly over the skin. What was he doing? And why did this even matter? It was just some stupid, scarred-over bite, wasn't it?

Jake was proven wrong moments later as a jolt of hot pain shot through his neck, and only from the lightest graze of Dirk's fingers. He let out a strangled little cry, not expecting it, and pushed Dirk away on instinct, covering the area with a hand to try and dull the sudden, fiery pain. The other sat in the sand, efficiently beached, for a minute before he actually commented.

"Well, by that reaction, I'm guessing it wasn't consensual; correct me if I'm wrong," Dirk mused, and Jake remained unsure how to react to the way that Dirk so easily knew; and based off only touching the scar. He didn't reply verbally but nodded, hand remaining clamped protectively over the crescent scars.

Dirk frowned, "That explains a lot. Sorry for assuming. Also, like I said, I'm _not_ a siren, so there's really nothing you have to worry about. Hell, if I were to start eating people or something I highly doubt it'd start with you; you're basically skin and bones, seriously."

"I am not!" Jake returned, offended. "I have far more muscle mass than you do, obviously!"

"Then what the fuck are you scared of?" Dirk asked, slipping back into the water, just his eyes showing.

Jake glared at him. "I'm not."

"Prove it."

"You-" Jake started, but both looked over to the side, toward the trail, when Bec's barking came into earshot, the dog racing down the beach.

"Son of a fuck," Dirk muttered, sitting up and moving away.

"Scared of dogs?" Jake asked, eyebrows raised.

"I- no! Of course not! I'm not scared of anything! Striders don't get scared!" He replied, inadvertently puffing out his chest with the response. His macho stance seemed to shrink a bit as Bec finally reached the shore, splashing straight into the water after the merman. Jake was afraid he might just run Dirk over, long legs striding effortlessly in large leaps.

Bec, being the ever friendly creature he was, all but tackled Dirk, who shielded his face with his hands as he was driven under a wave. Jake laughed at him, the dog's head rising above the gentle swell as he trotted back to Jake, shaking his coat off in Jake's face. 

"Good boy," Jake crooned to the dog, petting Bec's long fur.

Dirk resurfaced with a grimace, glaring at the dog with a hiss of, "Demon land-creature."

"Not to be impolite but-" Jake paused, listening for anything that would suggest his grandmother would be coming down soon. "-you might want to go; my grandma wouldn't be too happy to see a... Mermaid I guess, on her beach."

Dirk nodded. "Fair enough. And mermaid is a female term."

Jake rolled his eyes, deciding that maybe, just maybe, some merpeople were just assholes, not all savage.


	2. The Eel

The next day, when Jake headed out to the nets, he wasn't as hesitant. There was still the panic that rose when he neared the ocean down the same path to the same beach, but a familiar orange-eyed merman was there to meet him again, this time not in his net. Seeing him was surprisingly comforting-- another pair of eyes to watch the water for threats.

Dirk was lounging comfortably on the beach, a hand over his eyes to block out the sun, everything below his chest submerged in the shallows. He glanced over at him as Jake came trekking through the sand, kicking a little as his bare feet dug into the loose grains. He was wearing a white tee and shorts today, leaving the jacket he normally wore at home; his grandmother had insisted on washing it, saying it was unhygienic to wear it five days in a row. Jake hadn't argued, figuring it was best not to get into a battle of wills over a garment of clothing. That would be ungentlemanly and just plain stupid.

Dirk whistled. "Nice legs, daisy dukes."

"Shut your trap, would you? Its just the most obnoxious thing," Jake replied, eyebrows rising as he walked to the crank and gave the old thing a good shove to get it going. He was mildly worried; the crank normally started on its own, and he was late again. He dropped the cooler into the sand, watching to be sure the crank actually kept going; it sputtered and quit sometimes. In all reality, they didn't need to catch so many fish, but it made sense for fall and winter when the fish migrated to warmer water closer to the equator.

"Damn, moody today, aren't we?"

"Strider, I will personally shove the definition of moody down your throat if you keep at it." He returned, glancing over at Dirk only to realize his mistake. Damn it all; by the look on Dirk's face, it became obvious that he had _absolutely_ taken it the wrong way. "Not like that you dirty creature!" Dirk simply gave him a smirk; more of a crooked little grin than anything, but its purpose was obvious enough. Jake turned back to the crank, face flushed brightly.

"So are you gonna swim today or just pussyfoot around in the surf again?" Dirk asked, and Jake huffed a bit.

"Neither, I'm simply bringing the fish home. Nothing too exciting to watch."

"You have to come swimming at some point. I mean seriously, come on. Leaving me hanging here."

"My answer remains the same as yesterday's," Jake replied. "Which is to say I'm not swimming with you. Not today. I'm not even in a proper bathing suit."

"So tomorrow?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't say you wouldn't." Dirk flashed a sharp-toothed smile at him, and Jake frowned. He couldn't get past those; they were quite the set of chompers, and it made him uncomfortable thinking that, if he were to go swimming, how easily Dirk could use them if he were ever so inclined.

"Why are you so enthralled with having me swim with you? If I were you I'd have left by now. I'm a rather boring person." He sighed, glancing at Dirk curiously.

"Well, I've never met an interesting person, so I wouldn't know the difference. And unless you haven't noticed there's not really anybody around. Like, anywhere. Ocean included. I get bored." the other replied, interest piquing as the net was dragged closer to the beach. Dirk watched the fish in the net, and Jake couldn't help but be curious about Dirk's change in interest.

"What?" He asked, and Dirk glanced over his shoulder before shrugging.

"Nothing. Just thinking."

Jake didn't pry; he didn't know Dirk enough to, and prying seemed entitled to him. And entitled was definitely something he was not. The net finally reached sight of the shore, crank groaning with the effort and resistance, metal cogs squealing. Jake made a mental note to ask his grandmother where the oil for the joints was. He guessed somewhere in the basement.

The crank choked and sputtered, Jake's worry increasing, only for the machine to die. "Damn bloody thing just crapped out!" He cried, disbelieving. His grandmother had been maintaining these nets with his grandfather for almost twenty years before Jake's mother was born, and nearly fifty by the time Jake popped into existence. He kicked the crank with a hiss, frowning, only to wince at the pain it caused his foot. He took a deep breath, despising the old crank. Dirk was watching with mild amusement when Jake turned to see how far out the net was.

Even the prospect of going into the water was almost enough to make Jake panic, and he swallowed hard. Why? Why now? Why when Dirk was here, why not when he had been alone retrieving the nets for all those years? He shook off the questions; pointless wondering would get him no where. Of course, he wasn't quite sure his feet would get him anywhere at the moment, either.

Dirk raised his eyebrows at Jake's obvious hesitation. "Want help getting it out?" He offered, and Jake shook his head.

"No.. I- I've got it," he mumbled, but didn't move forward.

Dirk sighed. "Do you want me out of the water? Would that help?"

"I... Yes. If you don't mind, I mean. I'm still not sure about..." He motioned a bit, feeling guilty.

"Its cool, I understand, dude." Dirk said, scooting back up onto the beach. "Just glad the sand isn't hot as balls today. Try not to be in for long, 'kay? It gets hard to breath out of the water after a while." Jake nodded in response, and Dirk laid down in the sand.

Jake felt a bit better, but was still wary as he moved around Dirk, pausing as his feet hit the foamy surf. He hadn't ever had to do this, and going into the water, even if it would only be barely up past his knees, scared him. With a mental insult directed at his fear, Jake stepped in, eyes darting to his sides to watch the water around him. Nothing but turquoise swells that lapped gently around his ankles, and with the coolness of the ocean, he was almost lured back into a false sense of security that he had as a child. But he knew better now, ignoring that yearning for the ocean, and continued out toward the net, feeling as if he would vomit.

Any swell, any little wave made him tense, expecting something to drag him under the surface at any moment. He managed to reach the net before accidentally stepping right by a hermit crab; needless to say the creature was less than pleased, and turned to pinch his foot, making Jake hiss.

"You bloody bastard!" He managed, glaring down at the crustacean before picking it up and tossing it into deeper water. Dirk laughed from where he was on the sand, leaning comfortably back on his elbows.

"Having trouble?" He called, and Jake turned to look at him, catching the amused expression.

"That is in no way any of your beeswax!" He returned, grouchy because of his bleeding foot.

"The fuck is beeswax?"

Jake rolled his eyes, grabbing hold of the edge of the net and closing the clamp before tugging it, leaning most of his weight back to drag it up toward the beach. The net was moving, barely, but he managed to pull it in, eventually reaching the shallows and giving another harsh yank to the rope; one that _finally_ brought it up onto the beach. Jake sighed in relief, panting as he sat down in the sand.

"Heavier than normal," he managed when he had caught his breath enough.

"You're bleeding," Dirk deadpanned, looking over the gouge. "That crab got you good."

"Yes, well, I nearly stepped on it so I suppose it was well deserved, even if rather unpleasant," he sighed, pushing off the beach to go get the fish cooler. When he returned with the foam container, Dirk had already slipped back in the water, gills expelling large bubbles of air that lazily made their way to the surface. Dirk watched him as Jake kneeled down in front of the net, reaching for the clamp. Among the fish that were caught was an array of coral fish, and Jake was quick to pick them out and release the colorful, squirming creatures back into the water. All of them skirted Dirk, giving him a wide berth so as to not be captured again.

As Jake reached back to the net, he stopped, an eel peering up at him with little, coal black, pebble eyes. "Hello there, it would be greatly appreciated if you didn't bite me," he greeted the creature, reaching out for one of the smaller fish, watching as those eyes locked on the bite size fish. Ah, there. The mouth, a gaping maw of sharp teeth, opened, sides squeezing tight as the eel reached for the fish. The moment the eel captured the fish, Jake captured it, hand closing around the back of its head.

The eel thrashed, and Jake quickly stood, struggling to keep his grip on it as he all but ran over to the water again, wading into the shallows before releasing the eel. Jake smiled, wiping his hands off on his shorts when the eel swam off. He turned to go back to the net, having completely forgotten Dirk was there, and all but jumped out of his skin at the proximity. Dirk was between he and the net, but simply lounging, the same place he had been before, and Jake had to wonder if he had run right by the merman when he went to release the eel.

"Not having the best luck with critters today, huh?" Dirk asked, that amused grin having returned. Jake sighed.

"I guess not, no. It must just be one of those days, I suppose." He answered, moving back to the net, walking around Dirk and, like the fish, giving him a wide berth.

"I'm not gonna bite you or something," Dirk muttered, obviously irritated with being avoided. He glanced up at Jake, who had turned away, uncomfortable with the phrase. Because he very well _could_ bite Jake, if he wanted to. He could do more than that, could cause a repeat-- even if Jake knew how unlikely that was. Dirk had made it clear that he simply had nothing better to do than hang out, but Jake couldn't find it in him to put complete trust in someone he had only just met. Especially not with past history with.. Merfolk or whatever it was Dirk wanted to be called. Hadn't he said he "isn't a 'siren'"? What was the difference?

"Dirk?" He asked hesitantly, and Dirk looked over at him, eyebrows raised. "Well, you know how you said you're not a 'siren'? What exactly is the difference?"

"What's the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan?"

"I'm not sure I follow-?"

"Eating habits," Dirk answered, and Jake opened his mouth to ask what on earth he was talking about, only for it to register.

"Oh."

Dirk nodded. "Exactly. Same species different values. Its disgusting to think about taking advantage of someone and turning around just to fucking eat them alive. Raised a siren but I ditched that a long time ago." His expression had darkened considerably, and Jake felt his stomach twist, realizing that if he hadn't managed to get away from the siren that had drawn him into the water that he would be deader than a doornail. And worse, he would have been eaten alive, if what Dirk said was accurate. The thought made him feel sick, and Dirk seemed to notice.

"That's kind of why I was surprised. It's rare for sirens to engage in any kind of sexual interaction with humans that doesn't end in the human dying painfully. The second reason would have to be that marks aren't normally given to anyone except for other sirens, and usually only during breeding season," Dirk explained, expression frustratingly empathetic. Jake was feeling guilty; Dirk had been honest from the beginning and he had doubted it. Of course, Jake knew that there would always be a little doubt somewhere- always that nagging feeling.

It was an unspoken truth between the two that neither intended to harm the other from then on.


	3. The Reef

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake's first swim in three years is not as safe as he thought it would be

Dirk and Jake had managed to avoid being found out by Jake's grandmother; who had actually come down a few times when Jake began staying out later, obviously concerned about her grandson's excitement about the ocean having been revived. Both were watchful, careful after Jake spent a certain amount of time- more than an hour, usually -out of the house and at the beach. The two had shared different things about their cultures- both disturbed by Dirk's recount of his own -and Dirk refused to stop asking questions about technology like TVs that Jake had described. Over time and through their budding friendship, Jake slowly became more comfortable with the ocean, eventually even taking Dirk up on his offer to swim, telling him he would bring a bathing suit the next day.

And that's exactly what he did.

Jake had jogged down the beach, figuring a shirt was pointless if they were going swimming, as he had also forgone his glasses for the same reason. Dirk whistled the moment he came into view, and Jake rolled his eyes, used to the friendly flirting by now. "Shut your trap!" He called to him, and Dirk smiled.

"So are we going swimming today?" He asked, orange eyes settling on Jake's swim trunks. "Those look uncomfortable."

"Yes we are, and I'll have you know they're not," Jake replied, finally close enough that it wasn't necessary to shout. He had given up on the crank, figuring it was best left to Jade when she came back for the holidays, because Jake honestly wasn't sure what he was doing with it. Maybe they could work on it together. They were going out on the boat to go on a tuna fishing trip that coming summer, so they could work on the crank before they left.

"Took you long enough, Jesus Jake," Dirk said, rolling his eyes. He sat up in the water, watching Jake hesitate before stepping into the surf. He always hesitated. Jake gripped the net's ropes, giving a sharp yank to tighten the clamp and begin to close the net. Jake had built up a lot more muscle since he started having to drag the net in himself, along with carrying the cooler back. The first couple of days, the soreness was hell, but now Jake looked forward to the challenge.

He dragged the net toward the shore, feeling Dirk's eyes on him the entire way and wondering _what on earth_ he was even staring at. He was nothing to look at-- at least that's what Jake thought about himself. Dirk seemed to think otherwise, though, but Jake wasn't really sure he minded too much. He dropped the net, going through the motions of taking out and releasing the fish that they wouldn't need before cleaning the remaining amount and placing them in the cooler.

"Could you move any slower?" Dirk mumbled from the water, and Jake rolled his eyes as he finished, laying the last of the fish in the cooler before stepping back out to reset the net. Dirk let out an exasperated sigh, tail waiving lazily as he waited. "Seriously, speed it up, I've been waiting for, like, three weeks."

"Let me get this net out, no need to get your metaphorical trousers in a twist!" Jake replied, glancing over at Dirk as he laid the net, wrapping it tightly around the stake in the rocky side of the shore, tugging the rope taut. "Alright, there, hold you horses, Strider."

Dirk scoffed at the expression, and Jake took a moment to reconsider his promise before shaking off the second thoughts he had and stepping into deeper water; carefully making his way over to Dirk, still wary. Dirk turned to float leisurely on his back, waiting-- though rather impatiently --for Jake to join him in the knee-deep water. As Jake reached him, he sat down, letting the water come up to his shoulders, and Dirk offered one of his odd little grins.

"Tarzan is finally out of the jungle," he joked, and Jake rolled his eyes.

"How would you even know about Tarzan?"

"People don't just drop garbage in the ocean, sometimes its books and other useful things, and someone with half a brain could dry out book pages," Dirk explained, "Anyway, let's go."

"What?"

"We're swimming aren't we?" Dirk asked, eyebrows raised, and Jake hesitated a moment, deciding just where he would draw the line.

"I... Yes I suppose so. Not too far out, okay?"

Dirk nodded. "I didn't think you'd want to go very far, anyway. There's a reef near the western side of the drop off, and its hella awesome. If you're up for it, I mean. Its not too far off."

"Oh! Yes, I know about it, although I've never had the chance to explore it!" Jake was beaming, excited about a new area to discover. He had explored every inch of the island, and it had become boring to know every crack and crevice on the damn hunk of rock. Hell, even the volcano no longer promised any excitement.

Dirk grinned at him. "That's the spirit!"

•

By the time the two reached the reef's general location, Dirk had pointed out multiple schools of fish and Jake figured out why he probably should have brought goggles with him. The salt stung his eyes, but it was bearable, and Dirk had tugged him under on multiple occasions, so he had to get used to it anyway. As they reached the reef itself, the first corals beginning to appear, Dirk asked for him to wait by one of the larger rocks.

"Why? Not to sound rude, of course, but I don't quite see the point--?" He started, and Dirk clapped a hand over his mouth.

"First, quiet for a sec, 'kay? Second, because sometimes sirens lurk around here for lone divers, so I'm just going to check." Jake felt his heart plummet, turning to peer around the rock at the gentle swells and clear water. Nothing seemed out of place, but if Dirk knew about this kind of thing, then Jake would definitely let him go check. He nodded, and Dirk gave a curt little nod in return. "Just stay put a sec."

It took a moment for Jake to register that Dirk had already left, and he went to look, but there was no sign of the merman anywhere, and that was more unsettling than the current, possible threat. It was like Dirk had melted into the water; no waves, no ripples. Not a trace. Jake leaned back against the rock, treading water, only to nearly jump out of his skin when Dirk resurfaced right in front of him.

"Jesus Christopher Kringlefucker!" he managed to curse, and Dirk laughed at him.

"Talk about a colorful vocabulary," Dirk jeered, and Jake huffed at him.

"Talk about sneaking up on someone with no respect for a personal bubble!" He replied, and Dirk rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, the coast is clear."

"I figured as much."

"Then let's go," Dirk whined at him, and Jake laughed lightly.

"Alright, alright, you're horribly impatient, do you know that?"

Dirk rolled his eyes and tugged at Jake's hand, pulling him under the water, and Jake grimaced slightly, blinking through the blurry haze to get used to the thick feeling over his eyes. Once his vision had cleared enough, blurrier than usual due to his lack of corrective lenses, Jake became slightly skeptical of the direction Dirk was taking them. Jake went to tug away, giving Dirk a look, but the other mouthed 'trust me' over his shoulder, and Jake reluctantly continued after him, absently wondering how long he could hold his breath for. He hadn't tried for a while, so he guessed it wouldn't be very long; his chest was already starting to get tight from the pressure of the deepening water and his quickly-depleting supply of oxygen.

Even with being able to see the corals nearby, Jake was beginning to have second thoughts, doubting as to just where Dirk was planning on heading. He was running out of air, and Dirk hadn't even slowed down a tad. What if he had made a mistake? What if Dirk had lied to him? How far were they from the shore now, and how long until Grandma came to check on him? Jake knew it wouldn't be long, and no doubt she would panic if he wasn't there- especially since it was the first time he had gone swimming in years and the fact that it was the same section of the beach.

Jake let out his last air bubble, and tugged away from Dirk again, but the grip on his wrist was unwavering. His chest was tight, lungs burning, and Jake pushed at the hold on his wrist. Dirk turned to look at him, realizing what he was panicked about, but instead of letting him go to the surface, Dirk tugged him over. Jake was beyond the point of panic, agitation coming with it, and he shoved at Dirk, who moved to grip both Jake's wrists in one of his hands, the other holding Jake's face steady, forcing him still.

Before Jake could think rationally about Dirk's movements, the merman had pressed their mouths together, blowing uncomfortably hot air into Jake, who gasped out lightly, taking in deep, greedy breaths of the air being released to him. It was a bit difficult to comprehend just how a feat like it was physically possible, but he wasn't going to complain. At least he could breathe, no matter how intimate breathing through Dirk was. After calming his heart rate and bringing his breathing back to normal, Jake took a deep breath and broke away from Dirk, staring blearily at him through the haze of water. Was that... A normal thing for mer-people, or whatever it was he wanted to be called, to do? Jake flushed, slightly embarrassed, wondering if the connection- the choice for Dirk to give him air rather than let him return to the surface -held any portion of affection. He doubted it; maybe it was a sign of friendship? He didn't know enough about Dirk or his culture to accurately guess about it, so he decided to ignore the gesture past noting to thank Dirk later.

Dirk led him around a large, underwater cliff face, and down into a bit of deeper water before a large tunnel in the rock came into view. Jake hesitated, giving Dirk a look of intense skepticism, but Dirk simply rolled his eyes, tugging Jake along behind him until they reached the tunnel. Dirk turned to smile brightly at him before leading him into the dark.

However, it wasn't dark for very long; spots along Dirk's skin that Jake had previously mistaken for freckles lit up a bright amber; the same color as his eyes. Jake caught himself staring, reaching out before recoiling again. Dirk was watching him curiously, both having stopped inside the tunnel, and extended his hand, palm up, as if to say _its okay, you can touch me_.

Again, Jake reached out toward Dirk, this time letting his fingers move over the raised spots. They were warmer than the rest of Dirk, and he couldn't help his curiosity, following with his eyes and hands as the spots curled up around Dirk's arms in bright, swirling patterns that pulsed with different intensities of light. the brighter groupings were the ones closer to Dirks chest, around the area where, if the inside makeup of Dirk's upper half was the same as Jake's, his heart probably was. Jake paused to glance up at Dirk, who's cheeks were flushed brightly, even more orange spots seeming to appear across his cheeks, staring back at him with an expression Jake couldn't quite place.

That seemed to be enough to snap Jake out of it, and he was quick to put some space between them, embarrassed. Jake opened his mouth to apologize only to remember, too late, that they were under water, and frowned as the remainder of his air was lost in a flurry of bubbles that caught on the roof of the tunnel. Before he even had to ask, Dirk tugged him back over, rolling his eyes when Jake flushed beet-red.

∇

When they finally got to the reef, passing through the underwater cave system along the way, Dirk's neat little bioluminescent spots dulled back down to nothing but faint speckles on his body.

The reef was spectacular, all bright colors and beautiful, neon aquatic fish. They're stunning, and Dirk released Jake to swim along the drop-off on his own. It was calm, peaceful, and the heavy silence of the ocean dulled the anxiety of swimming that still knoted in his stomach whenever Jake saw something that seemed out of place. Dirk was always nearby, and even when Jake surfaced for air, the merman was never far away, peering at him from just below the waves whenever he breaks the shimmering surface of the water. He was glad for the company, truly, and glad that Dirk acts as a safety net whenever he was uncertain.

They'd swam for quite a while when Dirk's arm suddenly latched around his waist, dragging him back into the cave system so fast that Jake lost his air bubbles. Despite the previous, brilliant glow of Dirk's skin, he remained dark this time when they entered the cave, the merman pressing him into the cave wall and feeding him air momentarily before breaking away again to watch the entrance. _A shark in the reef, maybe?_ Jake wondered.

It was a long, breathless moment for both before a flash of bright crimson moved just beyond the mouth of the cave, and Jake's heart sank. He knew what it was, would recognize those shimmering scales and long tail fins from a mile away, and he struggled to break away from Dirk, starting to panic.

Dirk pulled him close instead, arms wrapped around him tightly to keep him from doing anything irrational. His grasp was strong, too strong, and Jake felt like his heart would break out of his ribcage to flee at any moment, holding his breath for dear life as he struggled to keep his panic at bay.

Dirk's grasp loosened slightly after a short time, a question of whether Jake would trust him or not, and when he grabbed onto Dirk's arm to ground himself, the merman relaxed a little. They stayed there for what felt like hours, underwater in the cave, Dirk giving him air whenever he needed it, until, finally, Dirk moved to check the reef again.

Jake held onto his arm, but Dirk peeled his hand off, motioning for him to stay put and stay quiet. Jake did as he asked, one hand over his mouth to keep himself from panicking and breathing in on accident. He watched Dirk disappear around the edge of the cave's entrance, the blonde overly cautious, but after a short moment, he returned.

Dirk extended a hand to him, but Jake shook his head, nodding back toward the other end of the cave. _I want to go home,_ Jake wanted to tell him, though the merman understood the wordless message well enough. He watched as Dirk's little spots began to glow again, lighting their path as they made their way back toward the relative safety of Jake's beach.


	4. Cliffside

When they had finally returned to the beach, Jake all but burst from the water, still in a bit of a panic. He didn't go far, just far enough that he was no longer in reach of the surf, and Dirk frowned at him from where he floated.

"I wasn't gonna let you get eaten, y'know," he stated dully, and Jake glanced away from him.

"I-- I know. It's just a little too much for me right now," he managed, voice quiet, and Dirk's expression softened.

"I'm sorry. I thought I had made sure we were totally clear, my bad on that one," he said, tone apologetic, and Jake waved him off.

"Don't get all sappy on me, that quick-thinking blonde noggin of yours no doubt saved my arse out there," Jake told him, sighing. "I'm sorry I wasn't ready for it. I just-- I got really spooked there. I expected a shark or something of the sort, not-- not that."

"Its good to be scared," Dirk replied, adding, "You ever see red or pink in the water, you get the fuck out, you hear me?"

He stared at Dirk for a moment, confused, but nodded. He knew the merman well enough now to see when there was more to a story than he was being told, but he didn't pry. Something about Dirk's tone warned against prying, and Jake was more than happy to simply nod along and make a mental note of that piece of advice. There's something more there than just a siren in the water, of that he was certain.

Dirk runs a clawed hand through his hair, eyes closing for a moment. "I'm just glad I noticed it and you're okay."

That surprised him, the genuine concern in Dirk's tone, as though he wouldn't be able to handle the outcome of Jake meeting whoever was attatched that bright red tail. Jake was sure there was bad blood between Dirk and the red siren, but he decided to keep his questions to himself. He would ask at a later time, but now is not the time.

Dirk talked with him until he had calmed down, and eventually Jake scooted back into the surf to sit next to him. The merman watched him with concern when Jake pulled his knees to his chest to rest his chin on them.

"I'm sorry for, erm... panicking, I know it made things a little harder than the needed to be," Jake apologized, not meeting Dirk's eyes.

"Dude, you don't have to be sorry. I'd be scared if I were you, too, especially with your history."

Jake grimaced at the reminder, not wanting to think about it, but Dirk continued before he could heckle the Strider for bringing it up.

"I mean, shit dude. Sirens are scary to normal divers who've never even dealt with them before, I don't blame you for wanting to get the fuck out of that cave A-S-A-P."

He nodded in response. Dirk was right, he had every right to want to abscond at the slightest sight of a siren. He still doesn't really understand how he came to trust Dirk the way he has, but he supposed being able to talk to him like a person had helped. Dirk seemed less like a siren or mer-person or whatever, and more like a friendly nymph from those wonderful Greek books he read a while back. He supposed what was a dumb comparison, but separating Dirk from the creature who hurt him certainly helped Jake see him as a person. Helped him see more than Dirk's species.

They stay there for a while, in comfortable silence, until Dirk reached out to him suddenly, and for the first time, Jake didn't flinch away. He simply watched Dirk as he touched the side of his face, curious as to the reason, but not overly concerned. It was like Dirk was studying him, eyes of molten gold looking him over, and Jake met them with a little smile.

"You're acting rather strange today, Dirk," he commented, head tilting to the side to study Dirk back. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah-- yeah. I just got kinda worried when that whole thing happened. Glad you're okay," he said again, and Jake's smile dropped. He thought, for a moment, that he knew what was going on here, and the idea that he may have to shoot down an advance from Dirk was a troubling one.

They couldn't get close, it would never work, Jake was well aware of that. Dirk, however, obviously didn't seem to think the same. He watched Dirk's little ear fins flatten back a tad, mind seeming to be running a million miles an hour as Jake did his best to decipher the expression on his face as it changed. The body language was confusing, the gaps in their communication growing more apparent when Dirk's hand dropped away from his face, eyes searching his for-- for _something_. He didn't know _what,_ but he had a feeling he may not want to know anyway.

Jake's grandmother's voice suddenly broke their silence, and Jake glanced back up the jungle path. He couldn't see her yet, but when he turned back to warn Dirk to move off and out of view, the blonde was already gone.

∇

"Jake, dear, I'm not trying to harass you about it, I'm just concerned," said Grandma English, staring at him where he sat, wrapped in a beach towel on the porch. "Just a few weeks ago you were still terrified of the ocean, and now you're swimming?"

"I-- I suppose I'm finally back to normal," he managed, though she looked unconvinced.

"Jake," she started again, leveling a serious look at him. "I'm completely serious when I say I don't want a repeat of what happened. I don't want to have to drag you from the ocean, bleeding, ever again."

"You won't, Grandma," he assured, confident in Dirk. "I promise."

She crossed her arms, looking him over for a long moment before relenting. "Alright. Remember you told me that. Go get dressed before you catch a cold."

He nodded, heading inside, but noticed that she remained out on the porch, scouring the sea. He knew she was on to him, there was no way she couldn't be, he wasn't exactly a subtle creature, and neither was Dirk. Jake was sure she would see those golden scales from a mile away, and he paused momentarily before shutting the door behind him. He knew she wouldn't like it if he told her what happened-- the real reason he had rekindled his love affair with the ocean. Telling her was a recipe for disaster, and though he knew he had to eventually, today was not that day.

Jake headed upstairs to his   
room, deciding it was best to think on it for a bit before he made any rash decisions. He'd rather not deal with telling his grandmother anything at all, but he knew one day she would find out.

Shutting the door behind him, Jake glanced out the window to the ocean, catching a gleam of gold under the turquoise water. He smiled lightly at the thought of Dirk hanging out around the island, catching fish and eating them instead if eating people. Dirk's a good person, Jake was sure of it, and he hoped one day he could make his grandmother see that not all of them were the way the one who had attacked him was. He liked Dirk quite a bit, actually.

Jake shook the thought out of his head. _No!_ He couldn't get close in any way other than friends, it simply wouldnt work and they'd both end up hurt one way or another!

Jake turned away from the window, stripping off the swim trunks that had essentially glued themselves to his thighs. He needed to quit thinking about those sorts of things and just enjoy his time with Dirk-- after all, who knew when Dirk would move into different waters? It seemed he moved a lot if he had been in Florida before he came to Jake's little island in the middle of the Southern Pacific.

He sighed as he pulled on a pair of shorts, noting the tinge of red to his shoulders as he dragged on a shirt. When he prodded the skin, it turned white and then went back to a lobster-red. That sunburn would be awfully annoying, he hadn't been shirtless on the beach in a long time, and the water was a nasty UV reflector, that much he remembered from his days on the beach years ago.

Jake settled down on his bed, though his eyes were drawn back to the ocean, and he scoured it for the little mop of blonde that belonged to Dirk. It was strange, really, that he was already so attached, but he supposed the merman inadvertently kissing him hadn't helped. It certainly hadn't helped his confused feelings on the whole situation. He still wasn't quite sure what Dirk wanted from him, though it seemed obvious enough a meal was not it.

He was restless, couldn't stand to stay sitting the way he was now, and so he stood again. He needed to clear his head, go on a walk-- maybe talk to Dirk on a different section of the beach where they wouldn't be interrupted.

Jake nodded to himself, heading to the door again. His grandmother gave him a suspicious glance as he waved at her, telling her he promised he wasnt going to go back in the ocean today, he just needed to think and clear his head. She had nodded, relieved, and let him go without argument.

Jake followed the little trail through the brush toward the jungle, pace slow as he thought about everything that had happened in the past few weeks. Swimming with a siren who wasn't a siren because he didnt eat people was a new and strange addition to his activities, one Jake never thought he would add.

He pushed past a few large vines as he made a loop around the volcano, listening to the chatter of the jungle creatures as he went. It was calming, and helped him clear his mind as he headed down toward the rocky, western side of the island, near the drop-off.

Jake picked his way down the side of the rocky cliffs, he'd climbed them many times, but this time it feels more like a rush to get somewhere, so he moves quickly across the rocky terrain. Eventually, he settled down on a large rock overlooking the beach, where waves crashed into the cliffs violently. The noise was cathartic, and he closed his eyes, laying back and listening. The sun is hot on his face, something his used to by now, and the ocean breeze is cooling as salty mist hits him every few seconds.

"Hey."

Jake sat up, smiling. He was happy to see that Dirk had found him, and slid down the rocks toward the water, close enough to smell the salt and feel the water spraying off the cliffs.

"Hello, Dirk," he greeted, toes in the water. He always went barefoot, even over the rocks, and his feet had grown accustomed to the abuse over the years.

Dirk dragged himself up onto the rocky beach next to Jake, propped up by his elbows. "Back already? I must've really got you addicted."

Jake rolled his eyes, "Don't give yourself all the credit, Strider. The ocean is nice, too."

Even when he had been newly attacked, the ragged shelfs of the cliffs had been a comfort to him, because from the top he could see any dangers in the water. He could be nearby, but still far out of reach of anything that would drag him under the waves.

"Oh, c'mon, English, you know I'm addicting," he said, and Jake laughed at him.

"Not all people are predisposed to addictive behavior," he replied, and Dirk scoffed.

"Anyone can be addicted to something-- drugs, alcohol, sex, _me."_

"Whatever helps your fishy-eared self sleep at night," Jake teased, picking up a nice, flat skipping rock and tossing it into the surf. Dirk watched it bounce with awe.

"How did you do that?"

"What, rock skipping?" He questioned. Dirk nodded, reaching for a rock before launching it. It sank.

"Strider, find a flat one. Don't just throw it, frisbee it."

"I don't know what that means," Dirk admitted, glancing down at the rocks.

Jake reached out to him, handing him a flat rock and guiding his hand into position. "Flick your wrist when you throw it. Throw it so the rock's flat part hits the water and it will bounce!"

Jake demonstrated again, watching it skip four or five times before sinking into the ocean. Dirk tried it, following Jake's instruction, and it skipped twice before sinking. "There you are, chap! Now you're on the trolley!"

"The what?"

"Nevermind that," Jake sighed, "Just an expression. You've got it!"

Jake watched him try again and again, slowly getting better. As he got better, though, Jake stopped watching his throws, instead watching the expression on his face as a smile slowly spread across his lips.

Oh dear. Oh no. He was definitely beginning to break his own rule.


	5. Sunrise Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I went to start this chapter I, on habit, titled it TDUGTH 5. I'm gonna be hung up on on that series forever, I swear. Maybe part of the reason I left it on life support for 4 years was because I didn't want it to be over. Yeesh.

Jake slipped out of the house early that morning, without waking his grandmother, well before sunrise. He headed down to the beach, the early morning air warm and humid, night sky only just beginning to give way to a line of lavendar along the edge of the sea.

He reached the sand dunes at a dead sprint, stopping just short of the backbarrier flats. Grass brushed his calves as he scoured the sea for any sign of Dirk. They had agreed to meet early that day, and Jake ran a hand through his hair, eyes adjusted enough to the dark to pick out the little flash of Dirk's golden tail when he saw it just beneath the surface.

He headed the rest of the way down the beach, wading in to greet Dirk when his head popped up above the water. "Sup."

"Hello, Strider!" He said, smiling, and Dirk dragged him down into the knee deep water to sit with him. "Well, I'm glad to see you too, you eager beaver."

Dirk chuckled at the phrase, "You didn't hesitate today."

"Well, you said you wouldn't let me get eaten, so I'm holding you to it," Jake replied, laying back in the water. "So you had better keep your end of it and not let me be someone's meal!"

Dirk smiled at him, one of his usual, reserved little smirks, and Jake beamed back at him. "I won't, I'm the only one who's allowed to eat you."

Jake rolled his eyes at the comment, "Oh really?"

"Yeah, really," Dirk replied, pulling Jake over to him.

Jake leveled an unimpressed stare at him, eyes rolling again. "Oh, I'm just shaking in my boots."

Dirk didn't respond, eyes locked onto Jake's face, scouring his expression. There was something about the way he stared, unguarded, that made Jake feel vulnerable. He couldn't help the little butterflies in his stomach, the way his breath caught a little when Dirk's hand shifted on his side a bit.

"Dirk?" He managed, quietly, and Dirk looked up to make eye contact.

"What?" He asked, equally as hushed.

"We can't--" he started, not sure how to say it. "I-- I can't get close to you like this."

Dirk looked absolutely shell shocked at his words, releasing Jake after a moment. "Why?"

"It wouldn't-- it just won't work, Strider. We live in different worlds."

"Jake, that doesn't matter. You literally live on an island, the waters are definitely warm enough for me to stay year round, and--"

"My Granmda, Dirk. She would be less than pleased," he interrupted. "And it's not to say I don't want to, but I know this wouldn't work long term."

Dirk went quiet for a long moment, thinking. Jake watched him from only about a foot away, unsure how the merman would react, though he knew Dirk wouldn't hurt him, even if he was upset.

Theres a hint of pain in his voice when he finally speaks, the single word enough to make Jake wonder if he had been hiding more than just a simple crush. "Okay."

Dirk turned away from him, but didnt leave, so Jake stayed quiet, sitting where he was in the water as it lapped against his shoulders.

Finally, Jake broke the silence, asking, "D-do you still want to swim with me?"

"I-- yeah. Of course," Dirk's response seemed strained, but Jake was relieved with the answer. He let a small smile slip, but Dirk didn't return it.

Something suddenly caught Jake's eye, out in the ocean, and he turned to look at it, but the little blonde head he thought he saw was gone. He frowned, and Dirk followed his gaze out to deeper water, confused.

"Did you mean now?"

"No-- no, not now." _Definitely not now._

"Did you see something?" Dirk asked, tone concerned as he scoured the water.

"I thought I had, but it must've simply been a trick of the eye," Jake replied, though he wondered if it truly was. The red siren they had avoided a few days back, maybe? Jake wasn't sure. He watched Dirk's eyes flick across the surface of the water for a moment before dipping down to check below.

Jake's stomach felt heavy at the idea that Dirk was so bothered, though the merman seemed to be reassured when he resurfaced. Dirk relaxed back into his usual position, assuring, "Nothin' out there. Be easier to see when the sun comes up again."

Jake nodded, but his gaze remained glued to the waves.

"What did you see?" Dirk asked after a moment, and Jake shook his head.

"Oh-- I'm sure it was nothing. It looked like your blonde mop sitting out in the waves, so I was confused," he replied, waving it off, but Dirk's expression turns serious.

"Blonde, too. If you see blonde that isn't me you need to get out of the water," he said, and Jake looked over at him, noting the turmoil in his expression when he looked back over the waves-- much more thoroughly this time.

For once, Jake let his curiosity get the better of him, asking, "You said you were raised a siren, so--"

"Yeah. I didn't think they would follow me, but apparently I was wrong."

Jake fell silent, frowning.

"But," Dirk began again, "Even if they are here, I won't let them get to you. Bunch of assholes can find food somewhere else."

"Dirk--"

"Its fine. There's nothing to worry about. I swear," he interrupted, and Jake turned to look at him.

"Strider, while I appreciate that, I need to know what to look for myself."

"Red, dark orange, pink, purple," he rattled the colors off without a second thought, and Jake made a mental note of it. "Don't trust any blonde people-eating asshole with those colors. Or any colors, honestly. Most of my kind have no empathy for humans."

Nodding, Jake asked, "Are all of you blonde?"

"Not my whole species, but--"

"No, I-- I am well aware of that," Jake mumbled, and Dirk turned to give him a sad little glance, eyes lingering over the scars on his throat again.

"But, yeah. Everyone in my family. They usually stay along the Gulf Coast, near Texas, so I don't really know _why_ they would follow me so far out. Tried to lose them in Florida and thought it worked," Dirk finished, sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Guess fucking not."

"Well," Jake started, trying to be optimistic. "They may have had a change of heart? Perhaps they followed you because they realized you were right?"

"Doubt it."

Jake patted Dirk's shoulder awkwardly, not sure what to say. They remained in a tense silence for a while, Dirk in deep thought and Jake watching him quietly. It's a long, silent couple minutes before Dirk spoke again.

"Whatever. At least we get to see the sunrise. I've never seen it from the beach."

"Really?" Jake asked, looking at him, and Dirk nodded.

"Only from the ocean. Its not really safe for me to be beached anywhere but here. Most other places have surfers or swimmers even before sunrise."

"Well, I'm more than happy to share my sunrise with you, Strider," Jake chirped, happy to be out of the awkward silence his rejection had created.

"Its weird to see it from above sea level," Dirk told him as the sun began to peek its blinding crown above the water, sending a bright orange line across the waves. "Really fuckin' weird."

"What does it look like from the sea?"

"Like this," Dirk said, dipping down until just his eyes are above water. Jake followed his lead, watching the way the the waves rippled around his face, the gleam of early morning sunshine beaming off the water to bathe the entire ocean into a wash of orange, yellow, and turquoise. It was stunning, really.

Dirk was watching him when he surfaced for air, taking a deep breath. Jake glanced at him, a little flustered by the stare, noting the way the light shimmered off the droplets of water hanging off his skin and hair. He looked away just as quickly as he had focused on Dirk, knowing full well that being alone with him was a recipe for disaster-- a disaster of a different kind than telling his grandmother would be. The emotion in those amber eyes was more than enough to tell Jake that what they had cultivated wasn't going to be easy to uproot. He wondered, momentarily, if it was even worth uprooting; it would certainly be more painful in the long run, but for now?

Shooting it down before the temptation could bloom into an idea, Jake reached for the pocket of his swimtrunks and pulled a pair of diving goggles out, shaking the water away and sliding them on. Dirk snorted at the look of them, reaching over to tap the hard plastic in front of his eyes with a clawed finger.

"Earth to English, you look like a dweeb," he teased.

"Oh, ha-ha, Strider, very funny. Unfortunately, I wasn't blessed with the ability to see clearly under the surface of the ocean, so I have to make-do."

He watched Dirk roll his eyes. "Yeah, well, you still look stupid."

"Quite the flatterer, aren't you?"

"My charm is unrivaled," Dirk agreed, then asked, "Is it safe to assume your get-up is a sign you want to swim?"

"That seems a rational conclusion," Replied Jake, turning to look over at Dirk again. "So long as I dont become that red-whoever-he-is's breakfast."

"You won't."

"Then what are we waiting for, Strider? Giddy up!"

∇

They explored the rocky coastline that they had met at a few days back, Jake pointing out schools of little fish and collecting mussels from the rocks into his pockets, until they noticed his high the sun had climbed into the sky.

Jake surfaced in a rush, but Dirk was quick to latch an arm around his waist and propel them back toward the beach they had come from. They weren't terrible far away, so the shoreline came into view quickly-- as did a less than pleased Grandma English. She looked worried, one hand shielding her eyes as she scoured the sea.

Dirk stopped short, expression one of trepidation, though Jake doubts she could see them with the glare of the sun.

"Jake, uh--"

"Its alright, Strider. I'll go the rest of the way on my own, just-- please keep an eye out for me, yes?"

Dirk nodded, releasing him, and Jake bobbed a little in the water, debating whether he really wanted to face her wrath, before he started swimming back. Jake stuck side of the little rocky alcove that framed the sand dune-covered beach, so it seemed like he had been exploring more shallow waters when he came around the bend toward the shore. It was knee-deep there, so he stood, only just remembering the shellfish in his pockets.

_Oh! A surprise for her! She can't possibly be angry with me for bringing home a lovely breakfast!_

"Jacob English!" She snapped the moment he came into view, and Jake cringed a little, pushing his goggles up onto the top of his head. "You had me worried sick!"

He made his way quickly up onto the beach, a mussel in his hand, and she squinted to look at it. "Sorry, Grandma, I didn't mean to worry you. I collected mussels! For breakfast!"

She seemed to soften when he finally reached her and handed her one of the shellfish he's holding, shaking her head. "While I appreciate your nice surprise, I would appreciate a note next time, so I don't find you missing in action!"

"Sorry Grandma."

"Oh, quit apologizing. Let's go home and I'll teach you how to cook these," she told him, turning the mussel over in her hand as she began to walk. "They're absolutely delicious when you broil them and add a little cheese. I'm still a little upset with you, but thank you for being so sweet. Always something new with you, Jake, I swear."

He laughed lightly at her, following her back up the jungle path toward the house, chatting idly about how large the shellfish around the rocky outcroppings were.

He promised next time he'd find a crab to bring home.


	6. Family Reuinion

_Dirk's hands press into Jake's hips, claws gentle despite their sharpness. Lips ghost over his neck, the thrill of shadp teeth just behind them enough to make him shiver. The water around them is warm, comfortable, and Jake takes a shuddered breath when hands press up under his wet shirt, sliding over his stomach._

_It's a torturously slow decent, and Jake arches back into him when Dirk's fingers tease along his waistband, mouth creeping up to nick his ear. Jake's hands find his forearms, fingers digging into the slick skin there, Dirk chuckling lightly against his skin._

_"Are you really already hard? I barely even touched you."_

_"S-shut your trap, Strider," he manages, though one of his hands moves back to grip Dirk's hair._

_Dirk hums against his ear, leaving a trail of little kisses down his neck as he finally gives in and dips a hand beneath Jake's swim trunks. He gasps, head tipping back onto Dirk's shoulder and effectively giving him free reign to leave hickeys over his throat. A hand wraps around him under the water and Jake curses, back arching again as Dirk drags him closer, one hand over his chest._

_"D-Dirk--" he starts, gasping for air when Dirk starts to work him, Jake's fingers pulling in his hair and voice uncontrollable as he moans the merman's name._

_Dirk's hands only tighten the more Jake wriggles and tries to buck up into his grasp. His breathing only grows more ragged when Dirk presses an open mouthed kiss to the junction of his neck and--_

Jake woke with a start, breathing heavily. His room was still dark, the moon still shining outside his bedroom window, and Jake let his head flop back into the pillows on his bed. He was hard from the dream, and Jake laid a hand over his eyes, embarrassed, face flushed.

_Bullocks, what a kettle of fish I'm in now._ he thought, sighing and running a hand through his messy hair. Gosh, he was absolutely screwed if even his sleeping brain was having fantasies about letting some dream-ghost-Dirk ravage him.

Jake sat up, reached for his glasses, and put them on. He's more than royally screwed, really. He did his damnedest to not get caught up in Dirk's pretty eyes and dashing looks, to not be wooed by his flirting and little affectionate glances, but that effort seemed to be all for naught.

Standing, Jake took a step toward the window, deciding to just let the uncomfortable tightness in his pajama pants go away on own. He ran a hand through his hair tiredly, eyes scouring the sea for any flash of gold under the waves.

He waited for awhile, but there was no sign of Dirk, so once his _excitement_ had calmed down, he snuck down the stairs from his bedroom and out the door. He closed the front door as quietly as he could, trotting down to the beach. He needed to think, but if Dirk noticed him he wouldn't exactly complain. Just the thought had his face heating up, and Jake stopped along the jungle path to take a deep breath.

_Golly,_ he thought, _I really am smitten, arent I?_

He supposed it didn't help that he had hardly had any kind of human contact past his grandmother and cousins for years.

After a moment, he continued down the path to the beach, skirting the dunes and little patches of brush toward the foamy surf. Once he had settled down on the beach, toes in the water with his pajama pants rolled up, Jake looked out over the dark water. There was nothing out there but the waves, and part of him wanted to wade in and find Dirk himself, but he knew well enough that if even Dirk was concerned about his family following him, it wouldn't be a good idea at all. The last thing he needed, after all, was a repeat.

He was entirely lost in thought when the sound of someone catching a breath above the waves reached his ears. He blinked, refocusing on the ocean, where a pair of bright pink eyes watched him.

He went to stand, but the siren waved at him, and he paused. "Hello?"

"Heyyyy!" She called back, drawing out the word. "Dirky's been watching you a lot."

He faltered a little, not sure what to say, and eventually settled with, "W-well, yes, I know. Of course I'm aware."

She smiled and swam a little closer, eventually stopping only a few feet away, and Jake's heart stuttered a little when he saw the bright pink of her tail. 

_Red, dark orange, pink, purple._ Dirk's list of colors comes back to him at the sight. It waves lazily behind her, the siren obviously in no way concerned.

"I could take you to him," she said suddenly, and Jake scooted back a few feet.

"I-- erm, no, I think that's quite alright, but thank you," he managed, uncomfortable and feeling a little threatened. "I'll stay here on dry land."

She shrugged lightly at his retreat, "Why're you scared? Your Di-Stri's, not mine. I'm not gonna take somethin' that's his."

Jake couldn't help the little bit of redness that tinted his cheeks at being referred to as _Dirk's,_ and the siren grins at him with a twin set of sharp chompers.

"Ooh, you totally like him. Like, like-like him," she teased, propping herself up and resting her chin in her hands. "I'm Roxy."

"Hello, Roxy, I'm Jake," he greeted, more than a little flustered now. _Golly, is Dirk's entire family going to tease me? They are just terrible._

Roxy's smile only widened at his introduction, and she scooted a little further toward him. "So, how'd you guys meet?"

Jake glanced away, a little embarrassed, "I may have accidentally... caught him in a net. Completely unintentionally!"

She laughed at him, seeming friendly enough, and he relaxed a little. "And you just-- what, like, started talking, or?"

"Well, yes, once we each had assured eachother we weren't going to kill the other."

"That's really cute. I hope Dirky keeps his promise. You're cute," she replied, and Jake stammered a little at the compliment.

"W-well, Miss Roxy, I don't quite think you understand--"

"No, I totally get it! You guys are like-- what's it called --star-crossed lovers, yeah? Its hella romantic, I like it and totally support it," She interrupted, seemingly pleased. "Y'all would be super cute together, it sucks you aren't one of us."

"I'd prefer to not eat people," Jake said, and Roxy pressed her tongue to her cheek, still smiling a little.

"That's how Dirky is, too. I don't really get it, but he's family so I support it, even if I think it's kinda unhealthy," she told Jake, pausing for a moment, lost in thought.

"Why is that unhealthy?"

"Oh, well, us sirens are supposed to eat people. Its just nature, nothin' personal against you guys. He can eat fish all day but it's not normal."

"Abnormalities aren't necessarily a bad thing," Jake defended, and her gaze flicked over him again before she responded.

"Yeah, I mean, that's fair, I'll give you that one. I dunno though, I just care about his health. Rose said to just let him do what he wants and he'll come back to his senses, but I wanted to make sure he was okay with how far he was going. That asshole tried to shake me in Florida-- _twice!_ Can you believe that?!"

Jake laughed lightly at that, smiling back at her. "I would believe it. Dirk was rather adamant about being on his own, and didn't seem pleased when he realized you were following him."

"Aw, shit, he knows I'm here?!"

"Well, of course he knows, he's been aware for a little while now, actually."

"And he didn't come see me?! What a dick!" She cried dramatically, but there was humor in her tone. "God, can you fucking believe that? He doesn't even want to see big sis Roxy!"

Jake opened his mouth to respond, only for Dirk's voice to cut their conversation short.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing?!" He was angry, visibly seething, and Roxy waved to him. Jake offered a sheepish little smile, but Dirk didn't return it.

"We're just talking, Strudel. God, cant a girl talk to her brother's boyfriend?!"

"Get _away_ from him," it wasn't a question, but a command, and Jake swallowed hard.

"Strider, really, it's perfectly fine. I wasn't in the water," he tried, but the way Dirk's gaze snapped over to him momentarily told him they were going to have _many_ words about this.

"You heard him, Dirky, I was just being friendly. I didn't even touch him, scout's honor!"

Jake questioned for a second how she would even know that phrase, but figured he probably didn't want to know if it had any chance of involving drowning a boyscout.

"I'm serious, Roxy. I don't want you or Dave or Rose, or especially _Bro,_ anywhere near him. Leave me alone and _go home,_ this is why I didn't tell you I was leaving, I didn't want you fucking following me!"

"Dirky, come on. You know I wouldn't hurt him. I only like girls. Plus, he's yours anyway, I see that mark."

Both cringed at the comment, and Roxy's smile dropped.

"Oh. Oh my god, _shit,_ I'm sorry--" she started, and Jake took a deep breath to avoid snapping about it.

"Its alright," He managed, voice strained, and Roxy looked between them apologetically.

"I thought-- aw, fuck, did I totally misread this?" She asked, and Dirk pursed his lips.

"Yes. You did. So if you could leave me and Jake the fuck alone that would be great. And, by the way, he's not my boyfriend."

Jake couldn't help the grimace that ghosted over his expression, but he quickly corrected it, and Dirk didn't seem to notice. He was much too focused on reading his is nosey sister the riot act.

"Okay, okay, got it, I'll go. Sorry. I didn't-- shit, man, you can't really expect me to think anything else, Di-Stri," Roxy said, pushing off the edge of the beach and back into the water.

"This isn't over. We're talking about this later," Dirk told her, tone deadly calm, and she glanced away.

"Yeah-- yeah. I get that. Totally deserved. Okay. Bye. Bye Jake!"

"Goodbye Miss Roxy!" He called, out of habit and politeness more than anything else, but the look Dirk gave him had him looking away the same way Roxy had.

When the bubbly siren had disappeared beneath the surface, Dirk all but surged up the beach toward him. Jake let him, breath catching when Dirk stopped only inches away, effectively beached and bright spots lit up. He was livid, and Jake couldn't help it when his mind flickered to the dream as Dirk's hands landed on either side of his hips.

"Are you insane, English?!" He snarled, not taking notice of Jake's sudden flush at the proximity. "You had four colors to remember, and one of my warnings was literally about anyone with blonde hair who isn't me! Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?!"

"Dirk--"

"Shut the fuck up, I'm not done yet," he snapped, silencing Jake's attempted defense. "She could have killed you! You were close enough to the water to be dragged in if she had any desire to, and if you think for a second that I trust that one of them wouldn't do that, you might actually be insane."

He stayed quiet that time, but his eyes were locked on Dirk's until his gaze flicked down to the merman's lips momentarily, and Dirk recoiled like he had been stabbed. "Are you even listening to me?! Are you-- what the fuck is with the mixed signals, Jake?! For real?"

"I-- wait--" He started, though Jake really wasn't sure what he was going to say. Dirk waited for his explanation, looking less than pleased and sitting significantly further away now. "Dirk, please, try to understand that this is difficult on my end as well, but we have to think rationally about this. That's not to say I don't want to-- because I-- I do, and I'd love to give this a good old fashioned try, but nothing about this is normal."

"Okay, I'll give you that, but what's so bad about just giving it a shot?"

Jake glanced away from him, but Dirk was watching him expectantly, and, finally, he mumbled, "Because-- because I don't want to fall in love with you, and I may already be halfway there."

Dirk frowned at him, "I don't know what to tell you, Jake. It's up to you." He went quiet again, hands bunching in the fluffy fabric of his pajamas, feeling the way Dirk's eyes bored holes into him. "I'm serious when I say I still want to be around you, but if you don't want me, you've gotta stop giving me signs that say you do."

Jake nodded, murmuring an apology. Dirk settled down in the water again, and Jake swore he could see the gears turning inside his skull.

"Why are you out so late?" He asked, suddenly changing the topic, and Jake glanced up at him.

"Oh-- I, erm, had a dream that woke me. So I came here to think a little. I wasn't expecting to spur a family gathering," Jake explained. "Honestly though, Strider, she really meant no harm. We were only talking."

"You're a little quick to trust after the shit a siren put you through."

Jake pursed his lips at the quip, angry that he would bring it up. "You have no right to talk about my past, I'm well aware of what happened, and you know well enough that's why I was hesitant to trust you!"

His voice was sharper than he meant for it to be, and he watched as Dirk paused for a moment. "That wasn't supposed to be an insult. I'm just saying."

He simmered down a little at Dirk's reply, still staring at him. "Sorry. I'm just a tad irritable tonight, I didn't get very much sleep."

"I feel you on that one," Dirk sighed, dipping beneath the waves for a long moment before resurfacing and shaking out his hair. "I'm kinda an insomniac so I rarely sleep well."

A question came to him suddenly, "Since when do you come out at night?"

"I usually don't. Been sleeping at night since we started hanging out."

Jake nodded, considering that for a bit. "Well, that's rather nice of you. I didn't mean to disrupt your sleep schedule."

"Nah, it's no big deal," Dirk waved him off. "Like I said, I have trouble sleeping anyway."

They stayed at the beach, chatting idly, for a while until Jake eventually left to go back inside when Dirk noticed him beginning to doze off.


	7. The Kelp Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Dirk explore the kelp forest, though Dirk remains distant.  
> Roxy is the most aggressive wing-woman in history and Jake is only just beginning to realize it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl I really love this AU and ive been meaning to write merstuck for a while

The next couple days were uneventful between them, boring almost. Jake was certainly bored. Dirk had been awfully reserved lately, his expression betraying little to no emotion despite the constant state of deep thought Jake often found him in. They hadn't swam in nearly four days, and Jake was awfully disappointed about it, especially now that the deepset ache for the ocean had returned to him.

Today, however, Jake headed down to the shore in nothing but goggles and swim trunks, determined to drag Dirk into the ocean with him. They were swimming today, Jake would make sure of it!

Dirk cocked an eyebrow at him when he came into view, looking over Jake's usual swimming attire with boredom. God, he hated that expression! He would change it today!

"We are swimming today!" He declared, wading into the surf and right past Dirk.

"Are we, now?" He returned, a lilt of humor to his tone.

"Yes! We are! We haven't swam in days!"

Dirk rolled his eyes but slipped into deeper water anyway, floating nearby but nowhere near as close as he used to. Jake ignored it, though the distance did hurt a little. "A'ight. Where do you wanna go?"

Jake shrugged, "Where haven't we explored?"

"Lots'a places, honestly."

Jake restrained a groan at the lack of detail, asking, "Well, surprise me then."

"Fine by me." Dirk dipped down under the surface, and Jake watched him, only for Dirk to surface again. "Are you coming?"

"I-- yes! I'm coming, definitely coming!" He replied, wading out into the ocean with him and following behind.

Dirk again disappeared beneath the waves, and this time Jake swam after him, goggles making the water much clearer, despite the lack of corrective lenses still hindering his vision. He followed Dirk into _much_ deeper water, pausing to surface for air before diving after him. The sea floor gradually deepened as they continued, until he could hardly see it, though Dirk's bright scales kept him visible as the gold shimmered in the sunlight that broke through the ocean's calm surface.

He was beginning to get concerned, until a dark, moving mass showed itself in front of them, and Jake squinted at it until he realized it was a kelp forest. He turned to surface again, noting the time he could hold his breath had gotten better.

After floating for a bit to catch his breath, he went to follow Dirk, only to catch the bright gleam of Roxy's pink tail out in the waves. He hesitated, and she surfaced to wave at him, putting a finger over her mouth to signal for him not to tell Dirk. Jake was uneasy that she had spotted them, but supposed Dirk's golden, gleaming self wasn't hard to see, and decided to head back down to find him again.

The kelp forest was surprisingly bright for how dense is was, and Jake watched the sunlight break through the haze of water around him as the kelp moved in slow undulations with the tide. He couldn't see Dirk for a moment, the merman shielded by the dark green of the plants, but a gleam of gold caught his eye and Jake followed, again catching up to him.

It was strange to swim separately from Dirk, to watch him cut through the water effortlessly, leisurely, rather than being wrapped in one of his arms or pulled along beside him. Dirk had obviously taken Jake's hesitation to be involved with him badly, and Jake wasn't sure what he could say to fix things and get everything back to normal. He wasn't even sure what their normal _was,_ really. Their normal had been playful banter and sarcastic responses to Dirk's flirting, but he had to wonder if this was Dirk's normal, if he was usually reserved and quiet, if he was, at heart, simply an observer.

A hand reached out of nowhere and snagged his foot, and Jake actually let his airbubbles out in a muffled shriek at the touch, yanking his foot away. Dirk hadn't noticed, parting the kelp before him and assuming Jake was following as he continued through the underwater forest. He went to break for the surface, only for his foot to be snagged again, and again he pulled it away, this time far more panicked.

He broke through to air at what he was certain was record speed, treading water and turning circles. He didn't want to be out here anymore, but he couldn't see Dirk-- he could hardly see the shore.

Roxy popped up only inches away from his face, and Jake scrambled backward in the water, splashing her without meaning to. She giggled at his panic, reaching for his hand. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, Jakey."

"Golly-- Roxy don't-- don't _do_ that!" He managed, able to hear his heartbeat in his ears, and recoiled from her grasp again. "Christ on a stick, you nearly scared the pants off of me!"

She smiled brightly at him, catching his wrist. "C'mon, if Di-Stri is going to give you the cold shoulder, you should swim with me!"

"I-- I'd prefer to just return to Dirk, but thank you for the offer," he replied, and she pouted at him. "Now, don't look so glum, I'm just-- erm--"

"Its cool! I get it, its scary," she interrupted, waving her free hand at him flippantly. "Like I said, though, even if Dirk is denying it, you're totally his. He's totally into you."

"Roxy..."

"Seriously! You've gotta gotta make a move!" She continued, and Jake sighed.

"Roxy, please listen. We've talked about and simply decided it wouldn't benefit us to get involved."

She frowned, seemingly disappointed. "That's so lame. You guys make a cute couple."

"We were never a couple!"

"You could've been!" She told him, far more involved in Dirk's love life than Jake is sure he would appreciate. "I see the way you idiots look at each other! You can't tell me there's _nothing!"_

"There's far more than there should be, trust me."

"See?! So what's the issue? What's keeping you from bumping nasties with him?"

"Roxy!! You can't say that!" He cried, flushing bright red.

"Why not?! You know I'm right! So what's the problem?" She asked again, and Jake sighed.

"It wouldn't end well."

"Are you afraid he'll eat you?"

"No! No, gosh, nothing like that! I just-- I don't want him to be hurt. I know it won't work long term, like you had said a few days ago we _are_ different, I'm not one of you. I can't be involved with him if--"

"Jakey. Jakeyyyy. Jake. Look at me. Lock eyes with momma Roxy for sec here, okay?" He nodded, staring at her. "Dirk's, like, definitely in love with you. I haven't seen him like this in years and you turned him down and now he's back to his stupid mopey self. He's totally not over it, even if he says he is. Go fucking _talk_ to him! What are you waiting for! Go!"

She released him, pushing him back toward the kelp forest, and he tried to protest, but she gave him another little shove.

"Love isn't easy, Jakey! Doesn't mean it's not totally worth it!"

"Roxy--"

"Go before he realizes you're gone and murders me, yeah?" She interrupted, and Jake rolled his eyes but nodded.

"Alright."

"Good! Go get your fish man!"

"He isn't my--"

"Don't care! Can't hear you over the loud humming of love in the air!" she called before disappearing below the waves.

Jake sighed, wanting to rub his eyes, but the goggles prevented it, so he took a breath and headed back down into the kelp forest instead.

∇

When they returned to shore, Jake was still pondering what Roxy had said, mind running a million miles a minute.

"Pretty quiet today, English. Something on your mind?" Dirk questioned after a drawn out silence.

"You aren't exceptionally talkative yourself, lately," Jake replied, and Dirk frowned. "But, yes. I am thinking about quite a bit at the moment."

"You've been like this since I lost you in the kelp. Are you mad at me?" Dirk's tone is apprehensive, and Jake is quick to shake his head.

"No! No, nothing like that, Strider, I swear on my life," Jake reassured, hands up to drive the point home. "Its not that at all. I've been thinking the past few days, is all. I've had a lot of things swimming around in my noggin, and many of them are a might bit confusing. My head is a crowded place at the moment."

Dirk had raised his eyebrows at the way Jake described his thoughtful state, but didn't comment on it, instead asking, "What's buggin' you?"

"Not exactly bugging, per say, but a recurring bit of conversation. When I talked with your sister, she seemed mighty invested in your happiness, and though she jumped to conclusions--"

"Jake, if she's bothering you--" he started, but Jake shook his head.

"No, no, she isnt! Promise! It's just-- maybe we aren't so different as I initially thought?" He said, struggling to voice his thoughts. "Its-- oh, golly, I'm bad with words, it's hard to explain. I'm having lots of thoughts right now."

Dirk stared at him, mouth slightly open, expression wary. "What are you trying to say, Jake?"

"I-- I'm-- that maybe we-- erm, we may have--"

Jake's grandmother called out to him suddenly, and the attention of both snapped up toward the trail. Dirk lingered for a moment before pushing back off the beach into the water, and Jake gave him an awkward little wave before darting up the beach.

_Tomorrow,_ he promised himself. _Tomorrow is the day!_


	8. Slow

Jake's grandmother had called him in for lunch-- she had quit coming out to the beach when he reassured her he was being safe and again promised that he wouldn't make the same mistake a second time.

She had finally finished cooking up the mussels that Jake had collected a few days prior, and today it was some kind of white fish. Jake swore he never got tired of fish, there was always a new way to cook it.

He supposed it was kind of like how John never got tired of chicken-- chicken nuggets, specifically. Jake wasn't really a fan, and preferred his fresh seafood to weird, squishy, soggy-breaded chicken. He had gone to stay with John for a few weeks a couple years back, and his cousin had tried everything to get Jake to properly enjoy the greasy fast-food snack.

He remained unswayed by the attempts, though John did warm up to seafood after staying with them for a while, even admitting he quite liked yellowtail after he and Jake had caught a decent sized one while out in a fishing boat one day.

Jake came back to the present when his grandmother asked, "Is there something on your mind?"

He sighed, "Well, yes and no. It's a long story, I suppose."

"I'm here to listen if you need a set of ears," she told him, and he smiled lightly at her.

Jake paused for a moment, trying to think of how to word it to where he wouldn't be giving himself away. "Well, its... I'm a might bit interested in someone, and this someone seems to hold a candle for me as well, however I don't believe it would benefit either of us in the long run, what with the distance."

She smiled lightly at him, "Jake, dear, long distance can be difficult, but that doesn't necessarily mean it won't work. If you both work at it and really do care about one another, it will work. You'll never know if you don't give it a shot."

"That's what Roxy said, too," he sighed, only to realize what he said and look up at his grandmother.

"It sounds like your friend Roxy is right, then," she replied, not catching his sudden nervousness. "I suggest you give it a shot. The worst that can happen is you go back to friends at the end. I know a few of my exes were friends until we eventually parted ways for good. Actually, your grandfather was an ex for a while, and after we got back together, we ended up staying together until he passed."

"I didn't know that about you and grandpa," he said, and his grandmother smiled a little brighter, though it was tinged with sadness.

"You never know unless you try, Jake. Your grandfather was an angry little man a lot of the time, and kind of annoying, but we made it work, even when we were long-distance. When I came to this island, he stayed to work in California, so that we could be supported in our little venture to make this island home. And we did, and even after all of that, even an ocean apart, we made it."

Jake returned her smile, feeling more at ease. If even his grandmother was supporting a relationship that may be difficult, maybe it was worth it. Even if they didn't work, she was right, he would always want to be around Dirk, even as friends.

_Tommorow I'll tell him._

∇

Tomorrow was not the day. Neither was the day after, or the day after that.

That night, Jake went out to sit on the rocky coastline where Dirk likely wouldn't see him, knees drawn up to his chest. He rested his chin on his arms, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He really thought he could do it, but Dirk had avoided any semblance of important conversation, shutting him down any time he had tried to bring it up. He was tired of trying, and it seemed that Dirk was beyond tired of waiting.

"Hey."

Jake glanced up, knowing it was Dirk just by the single word. "Strider."

"You look upset," he commented, and Jake gave him a mild glare.

"I'm tired, Dirk. I'm thinking about quite a bit right now," he said, brushing it off.

"I know what this is about and I know Roxy's been pushing you. We aren't talking about this, I already know where you stand on it. We already went over it."

"Then why are you here?" Jake snapped, exasperated. "For-- for fun? To make obnoxious small talk and sit freaking twice as far away as you used to? To tell me we aren't talking about it just to be nearby and make me want to talk about it?"

Dirk seemed taken aback by Jake's sudden hostility, expression blanking for a moment before he recoiled a little in confusion. "Jake, hang on--"

"Strider. Please, just listen to me a moment."

Dirk went silent.

"I-- I know you are probably still upset with me. And that is understandable. I just-- I have a lot of trouble trusting not only others but myself. I don't-- I don't know what I want. Honestly, I'm not sure. All I know is that I want to be close to you, Strider, and this distance is killing me," he admitted, voice hushed. "I've been trying to talk with you about this for a few days now, but you keep beating around the bush and I was afraid of making you upset. I need time, and I don't want to lose what we had, I quite enjoyed being dragged around to whatever new and stunning thing you wanted to explore with me, and I enjoyed our banter and the excitement. I want to keep the peace, and work with you, but you have to understand that because of what's happened in the past, I'm afraid to get close to you, even though I truly _do_ want to."

Dirk let out a pent up breath, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

Jake remained quiet, waiting for more than the simple response, and finally Dirk gave in.

"I know. I rushed you, I was pushy, and I shouldn't have reacted like this when you told me no, but--" he paused, shaking his head. "Fuck, Jake, I don't like talking feelings, and I know you don't either, because of whatever intimacy issues you've got, but honestly I really, _really_ like you, okay?"

"Then please, just give me a little time to adjust. I can't just leap into this, Strider. I-- I know I have problems that I have been letting fester, problems that you don't deserve to deal with, but please. Let me get there in my own time."

"Yeah. Okay." Dirk nodded, "We'll go slow, then."

"Slow. Yes," Jake agreed, then added after a moments pause; "Because, I _am_ willing to give this a shot, I've thought about it a lot, and I think I reacted a little too quickly. Even Grandma seemed to take the side of chance and, after having it played back to me through a different lense, I see I jumped a little too quickly to automatically assuming it wouldn't work."

"Wait, your grandma--?"

Jake caught him before he could finish the sentence, shaking his head with both hands up defensively, "Oh! No, no, no, definitely not, I kept things vague and she seems to be under the impression I'm cultivating a long distance relationship-- which, I suppose, isn't necessarily _wrong,_ but she doesn't quite have the full story."

Dirk nodded, going quiet, obviously deep in thought, and Jake watched him for a while before the blonde spoke up again. "Slow. I can work with that. We can do that."

Jake sighed, relieved, and flopped back onto the beach on the rocky beach, ignoring the way pebbles dug into his spine. They could do this, they would go slow, and Jake would do his best to open up and really trust Dirk-- trust him with more than just his physical safety.

They could do this. Together.

∇

For the first time in over a week, Dirk took him by the hand and pulled him along to an adventure in the ocean, no longer swimming separately. Jake was elated, goggles on and eyes bright as they approached the rocky cliff shelves again, to collect more shellfish. It wasn't a new adventure, but it felt much nicer than the last one where he was stuck in the kelp forest alone for a while due to Dirk's initial withdrawl from him. It was different this time, Dirk's presence always close, but comfortable.

Things had settled down since they talked that night, and Jake was thankful for their return to normalcy; even if it was a little strange and awkward in the beginning. Dirk was still avoiding flirting, thankfully, but they had fallen back into playful banter, and Jake was glad for it. It had been weird to have Dirk so quiet, and he seemed happier now.

Roxy had also visited him again, noticing him before Dirk one day, and she had all but dragged him into the water for a hug-- and subsequently scared the crap out of him and got his clothes all wet. He hadn't been all that pleased, but he did thank Roxy for her pep talk. Dirk had rescued Jake from her prying for details, chasing his sister away with a couple of curses and insults, and she had laughed at him and flipped the bird before dissapearing into the water again.

Jake was drawn back to his thoughts by Dirk surfacing next to him with a handful of mussels. "I don't know how you like these things, they're gross and hard to open."

Jake laughed at him, "Well, next time I cook some I'll have to bring them down for you to try. Eating them raw isnt half as good as cooked."

"I've never had anything cooked before, but it always smelled great when people were grilling on the beach," he replied, turning a few of the shellfish over in his hands. "Why don't you bring a bag or a net for these?"

"I could go get one! I would definitely be able to collect more, and tomorrow we could snack on them together before we swim."

"Sure, if you want," Dirk gave a curosy glance over the rocks and picked a few more of the larger mussels off for him.

"Okay! Let's go then, I'm sure Grandma wouldn't mind if I borrowed the stick net for awhile." Dirk reached for his hand, and he let the merman take it once he had stuffed the mussels into his pockets. "I'll drop these off at home and then come back with the net."

Dirk nodded, pulling him along back to shore. When they reached the beach, Dirk settled down in the surf, and Jake headed up to the little path toward his house. He paused at the bottom of the trail, turning back to wave at Dirk before trotting up to the house.

His grandmother was pleased with the mussels, commenting on how nice and large they were, and he smiled, taking the net from the closet and telling her he was headed out to get more.

"Alright, just be careful, Jakey," she called after him as he jogged back out the door.

"I will!"

She watched him go from the door, arms crossed, and if he hadn't kept going, he might have seen the concern in her expression when she saw him greet Dirk at the beach.


	9. Grounded

When Jake had returned home later in the day, his grandmother had watched him like a hawk, looking him over thoroughly when he returned.

"Grandma-- Grandma, I'm _fine,_ really," he managed, brushing her off and looking at her with a little concern.

"Jake, I was serious when I said I don't want a repeat," she told him, tone grave. "I don't want you tending the net by hand anymore. Jade's spring break is coming up, and she can help you fix the crank when she gets here. We have more than enough fish to get us through."

"But--!"

"Its not up for debate," she interrupted. "I'm worried about you, and I'm not going to let you make the same mistake again, because you might not live through it a second time."

"Grandma--" he tried again, but she raised a hand, and he stopped.

"Is Roxy one of them, too? I didn't realize you meant a _siren_ when you were talking about wanting to be involved with someone!"

"Dirk isn't a siren!" He defended, "He-- he doesn't eat people, he--"

"You can't trust what he tells you! The minute you step into deep water it will be the same thing, and I refuse to let that happen!"

"I already have! I've been swimming with him for weeks!" He cried, exasperated, and she faltered a little.

"What?! What do you mean you've been _swimming_ with him?! Jake-- you can't just _do_ that! He's going to--"

"He won't!" Jake interrupted, trying to explain everything to her. "We've been to the reef, and the rocky side of the shore, and the kelp forest, and he even protected me from a siren who's been lurking around, and--"

"There's another one?!"

"Yes, two I know of, not counting Dirk," Jake sighed, rubbing his eyes. "If he wanted to eat me, he would have done it already."

She stared at him for a long moment, arms crossed. Finally, she said, "I still don't want you down there."

"Grandma--"

"I'm completely serious, Jake. You will _not_ tend that net. I've already lost one child, I refuse to lose another."

Jake went quiet, knowing there would be no reasoning with her. She gave him a concerned look at his silence, and Jake managed a quiet, "Okay. I won't."

"Thank you," she said, and he looked away from her, upset. He'd have to tell Dirk tonight after she fell asleep. "Are you hungry? We could make lunch."

"No thank you," He shook his head, excusing himself to his room.

∇

Instead of risking waking his grandmother by going downstairs that night, Jake chose, instead, to slide open his window and climb out onto one of the nearby tree limbs that reached out to his room. It was an easy climb down from there-- Jake had been climbing trees since he was a child, so a big jungle tree was no trouble to pick his way down.

As soon as his feet hit the ground, Jake took a running start over to the rocky coastline, figuring it was better safe than sorry. If his grandmother had seen them from the house, he wouldn't be using that beach to meet Dirk anymore. The breeze was cool even though the night was warm and humid, and Jake was glad for the little bit of cool ocean air that drifted over the island and broke the usually heavy, damp atmosphere of the jungle at night. The soundtrack of his short dash to the rocky shelves was filled with the chirping of cicadas and rustling leaves as he pushed his way through the brush in a straight line rather than take the path.

When he reached the cliffs, carefully picking his way down the rock face, Jake was breathing a little hard. It was much shorter to go through the jungle that way, but more difficult with all the logs to jump over and branches and vines to push out of his path.

When his bare feet touched the rocky shore, he heard a little splash, turning in time to watch as Dirk surfaced, golden tail making noise in the shallow water. Dirk smiled lightly at him, only to pause at Jake's expression.

"What's up?" He questioned, tone concerned.

"Grandma found out," he sighed, wading into the water in his pajamas to sit next to Dirk. "She's not letting me tend the net anymore. I don't know how she saw us, I didn't think she could see where we were from the house."

Dirk frowned, thinking for a moment before asking, "So, what's the game plan?"

"Well, if you'd still like to, we could just meet at night?"

Dirk's frown turned to a grimace, "Night is a lot more dangerous, Jake. I come out during the day to see you, and Roxy comes out to bother us, but night time is when we're supposed to be awake. It's a lot more active and a hell of a lot more dangerous. You won't be able to see in the water, and I'll be lit up pretty bright most of the night so I have visibility and so sharks avoid me. We won't have any cover."

Pondering that a moment, Jake sits back a little, wet shirt sticking to his chest. Finally, he said, "I trust you enough to swim with you at night."

Dirk sighed, glancing at him, "Jake, I'm serious. Its dangerous. If you can get away during the day I'll be more than happy to swim with you. I'm sure I could protect you at night, but I really don't think we should risk it."

Jake laughed at him lightly, "Who are you and what have you done with my Strider?"

He watched Dirk roll his eyes, little lopsided grin returning. "You're not regular Jake anymore, either. Since when do you risk running into another Siren?"

"Well," he started, "Since I began talking with Roxy, I'm beginning to think maybe you don't trust your siblings enough. She said you have another sister named Rose. Roxy also said the mark is a warning to others not to touch me, so maybe you're being a little too careful?"

"Maybe it warns those of us in Texas, but some don't care and will go after you anyway. I just don't think it's worth the risk."

"Maybe you're right," he admitted. "Its just strange to hear you of all people say it."

"What'd your grandma say?" He asked after a moment of quiet, and Jake groaned.

"She was very upset with me. She said she didn't realize her relationship advice would be used on a siren-- and I did tell her that's not what you are, however she still wasn't pleased and stated that I had no reason to trust you. No matter how I tried to defend, everything I said only seemed to make it worse."

Dirk grimaced a little at that, asking, "Did you tell her we've already gone swimming? Doesn't she realize I would've already ate you if that was what I wanted?"

"I assume she still thinks that, for some godforsaken reason, it's all some big plot, and even if you won't eat me, someone will," Jake grumbled, still miffed about the whole situation. "She has no faith in my ability to defend myself. I got away from the first one well enough on my own!"

"I mean, she was gonna find out eventually, I honestly expected this a hell of a lot sooner."

"Yes but it's still a giant pain in my caboose!" Dirk raised his eyebrows at the wording but didn't comment on it, listening as Jake continued his rant. "I just don't understand! I am an adult! I--"

"You should tell her that."

Jake paused, turning to look at him. "What?"

"Tell her that," he repeated. "You're an adult, you can do what you like. Tell her how you feel about it, don't be a push over."

"I-- well, I suppose you're right. However, I've never gone against her wishes before."

"Its okay to stick up for yourself, Jake. You weren't shy about it when I overstepped boundaries or made you uncomfortable, you shouldn't bottle it up with her."

Jake nodded, wondering how he would bring it up, but Dirk interrupted his thoughts with a question. "Why do you live with your grandma, anyway?"

"Oh. Erm, well, my mother made a lot of very bad decisions when she was young and then then got pregnant with me. She tried to clean up her act, according to my grandmother, but ultimately couldn't and so my custody was granted to my grandparents. My father was never around and I didn't bother speaking with my mother much before she died of an overdose. She was never too interested in me, and I never really knew her to begin with."

"Grandparents? Is your grandfather here too?"

"Well, he was, but not anymore. He died of a stroke when I was ten or so," Jake explained, and Dirk seemed to have his curiosity sated for now. "He was very high strung, so I suppose it was inevitable. My grandmother is so protective because of all that's happened."

"I mean, I get where she's coming from, but shes gotta loosen up a little on that deathgrip."

"Yes, well, try telling her that," Jake laughed, rolling his eyes. "She is the most stubborn lady in the world, I swear. She's even more persistent than Roxy at times, and Roxy is overly involved in making you happy."

"Yeah, Roxy's a pain in my ass but as long as she's not planning to hurt you it's not like I can do much about it except keep chasing her off when she gets annoying."

"Well, from what she's said, she's quite happy for you. She knows you much better than I do, and she said you're happier now than you have been in a while, and she just wants to make sure you're safe," Jake told him, and he watched Dirk shake his head, the littlest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"She gets so weird and protective. I get that I'm her little bro but she could at least give me a little room to breathe," he replied, and Jake smiled at him, laying back in the water to dunk his head.

When he resurfaced, shaking the water from his hair, clothes now absolutely soaked, Jake said, "At least she cares. If it weren't for her reassurance, I may have remained an awful pansy about approaching you after I thought over everything for a while."

"Yeah, guess I owe Roxy that one," Dirk admitted, watching him from his peripheral. "She's cool sometimes but man can she talk."

"She definitely does have quite a lot to say, doesn't she?" Jake agreed, floating on his back in the shallow water.

"Sometimes it's annoying but it was nice when we were kids. She always had some funny comment to make, or she'd bring me up to the surface to make fun of ugly people sometimes. It was mean but really hilarious. We'd scare divers sometimes just for fun. Humans were always weird to me as a kid, you guys love the water but are such inefficient swimmers."

"Not everyone can be blessed by birth with a stunning fish tail," Jake replied, reaching out to poke said tail with his foot. "I'm honestly surprised it isnt slimy like a fish's."

"Damn, English, talk about an insult. I'm not a fish. Technically I'm not sure what I'd be classified as but I'm not a fuckin' fish. Probably not a mammal though, with the gill situation."

"You're a fish, Strider," Jake teased. "A very pretty, oceanic goldfish."

"Oh, so you think I'm pretty?"

"Y-your tail! Your tail is pretty!" Jake sat up, flustered at the slip. Dirk had a smug grin on his face and he scowled at the merman at the sight.

"Your word, not mine," he replied dismissively, eyes on Jake. "Good to know you think I'm the prettiest fish in the sea."

"I most definitely did not say any of that!"

"Didn't have to, broski."

"You are absolutely infuriating, you know that?" Jake asked, puffing out a breath, face red.

"And you look cute when you blush like that. We're both just stating facts."

Jake stammered a little at the compliment, until settling on:

"Shut your trap, Strider!"


	10. Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake stands up to his grandmother and goes on an adventure

In the early hours of the morning, Jake shrugged off his sleepiness and dragged on his swim trunks, his glasses replaced with the pair of diving goggles he kept in his bedside nightstand.

His grandmother was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, reading a book, when he trotted down the stairs. The unimpressed expression on her face when she saw him made Jake nervous, but before she could chide him, he spoke up.

"I-- I am an-- an adult! I am a grown man! I am going swimming! I am tending the net today and I will go swimming with Dirk!" It all came out in a single breath, rushed, and she sighed, closing her book.

"Jake, sweetheart. I'm aware you're an adult, but I'm not letting you do that."

He took a breath, not sure how to respond to being shut down off the bat, managing, again, "I am going swimming today."

"No you are _not,_ " she said and he frowned.

"Grandma, I promised him. You always told me not to break promises."

"Promises don't apply to things that want to eat you!"

"I am going swimming today, I can make my own choices and Dirk has proven he isn't dangerous!" He argued. "And Roxy isn't either. Well, okay, she does eat people but she's Dirk's sister and promised not to eat me because she doesn't want Dirk to be upset."

His grandmother raised her eyebrows, and Jake paused, realizing how that sounded.

"Erm, well-- Dirk chooses not to eat people. That's why he left the gulf coast. Roxy only followed him because she was concerned." That didn't seem to help, though Jake was slowly inching toward the door. "And, well, Dirk says he hasn't eaten people in a while and that's why he decided to leave because he doesn't like the whole thing about making someone trust you or luring them in and then eating them. Plus, like I said! He would have done it by now!"

"When did you promise him?" She questioned, and Jake sighed.

"Well, last night of cour--" he stopped dead, realizing what he had let slip, and his grandmother stared at him.

"You snuck out after I told you not to go to the beach?" She questioned, shocked.

"I-- I may have... possibly."

"Jake."

"Yes?" He asked, voice timid.

"You snuck out, after you told me you wouldn't go down there. You snuck out at _night,_ when sirens are the most active, and you didn't even wake me? What if something had happened to you?"

"Well, I had promised I wouldn't tend the net... it was a different beach. And nothing is going to happen anyway! I've known Dirk for quite some time now and not once has he tried to hurt me!"

"He hasn't hurt you _yet!_ that doesn't mean he won't!"

"Grandma, even if he tried to, I'm older now. I know how to defend myself, I'm not a child anymore, I won't let myself get into a situation I can't escape from," he reasoned, hands up in defense. "Really. I'll be fine Grandma, just trust me a little bit."

She didn't seem pleased, but relented. "Fine, but if I have to pull you out of the ocean bleeding for a second time, you'll never leave this house again."

He beamed at her as he darted to the door, calling, "Thank you Grandma! I'll be home later!"

She waved, but her expression was one of deep thought, and he closed the door behind him before all but sprinting down to the beach and straight into the water. Dirk showed up the minute he stepped into the ocean, smiling.

"I guess it went well?"

"She doesn't like it but I got through to her about it!" Jake told him, grinning like a madman. "So, come on, let's go!"

Dirk rolled his eyes at the enthusiasm, but pulled Jake along with him into deeper water anyway.

∇

Dirk's spots lit up when he pulled Jake into the little underwater cave system near the reef, casting golden light around the little tunnel. He stared at Dirk from where he was being dragged along behind him. It was just as stunning as the first time he saw it, and Jake had to stop himself from touching the spots.

Dirk noticed, pausing for a moment, and Jake reached out hesitantly, watching the way the edges of his fingers turned red from the light the merman was emitting. Dirk's eyes were on him, expression completely unguarded, and Jake risked moving a little closer. He still wasn't sure what he wanted, exactly, but Dirk seemed content to let him lead.

Jake's gaze flickered between the bright spots and Dirk's face a few times, before ultimately settling on the merman's bright eyes. They were full of emotions that Jake couldn't place, and he leaned up to leave a little kiss on Dirk's lips. It was chaste and didn't go any further than that, but Dirk looked stricken by the affection. His little fin-ears flattened back, gaze trained on Jake, the deep flush on his face lit up by his colored spots. Jake glanced away, embarrassed by the intense gaze.

Dirk surprised him with a little peck to the cheek before pulling him along, deeper into the tunnel, both red in the face and smiling like idiots.

When they reached the reef again, Dirk turned to face him as they drifted through the water, the fingers of both hands tangled between Jake's. A flash of pink appeared in his vision, and Jake waved to Roxy as she passed by with both thumbs up. Dirk rolled his eyes at the sight of her, leading Jake along through the reef, farther this time than they had ever explored. They followed the gentle slope of the sea floor, passing corals and anemones and schools of small, colorful fish that dart away from them whenever they got too close.

Dirk stopped a few times to give him air as they finally reached the outskirts of the reef, the deeper ocean was a beautiful dark blue that just begged to be explored, but Dirk kept them in more shallow waters. It was beautiful, honestly, and Jake let Dirk pull him around as he looked at everything and brushed his fingers over corals.

It's not until they eventually drifted to a stop that he realized Dirk had only been watching _him,_ not looking anywhere but Jake's face. Jake met his eyes with a little hesitation, but Dirk smiled back at him-- for once a completely unreserved, brilliant smile, sharp teeth and all. Jake was surprised for a moment, but returned one of his own. He watched as Dirk's ears dropped down a little and a few spots lit up on his face, eyes searching his.

For a moment, Jake was overwhelmed by the emotion there, the sudden guard drop, the way he stared. It was a long, heavy moment, and finally Jake broke it by looking away, the lack of ability to say anything to him making him feel silenced. It was difficult to express how he was feeling, the conflict and the sudden surge of affection at Dirk's efforts. He knew that Dirk had felt lead on with how he had been so hesitant at first, and he was happy that the merman had been willing to take things slow with him once Jake finally made up his mind.

He still wasn't sure how close he wanted to be to Dirk, but the little bits of intimacy he was getting was wonderful.

Dirk broke his train of thought with a little peck on the cheek, lips lingering a moment longer than neccessary before pulling Jake back along the reef. His face flushed at the surprise contact and Jake couldn't help but think that maybe he could get used to this-- maybe he could get more than used to it.

He was actually really looking forward to the next time Dirk did it.

∇

It was about midday by the time they returned to shore, much later than usual, though Dirk seemed more at ease. Jake assumed it was due to the fact that his grandmother now knew, so there was nothing to hide. He liked the new dynamic, the way they didn't need to watch the shore or keep an eye on how high the sun was in the sky, how they could both simply relax and be together on the beach without worry.

Jake laid back in the sand, Dirk following after him and settling down half in the water, near his legs. He watched the merman fold his arms and rest his face on them, glancing up at Jake.

"What?"

"Oh-- erm, nothing, nothing. nothing," Jake managed, averting his eyes.

His gaze ended up back to Dirk after a moment, and the merman grinned at him, gills flaring a few times in deep breaths before he army-crawled up the beach to lay next to Jake.

"I thought you had trouble breathing out of the water?" He asked, and Dirk rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, after a while. I'm good for a bit, though," the merman responded, pausing for a moment before reaching out to touch Jake's hand. "Can-- can I--?"

Jake glanced down, a little flustered, but nodded. Dirk was careful to avoid touching him with his sharp nails, gaze flicking up to Jake a few times before he locked hands with him and laid on his back next to him. Despite how simple the show of affection was, Jake's heart was thrumming in his chest, Dirk's cool hands a nice contrast to his warm ones.

They stayed like that for a while, both quietly enjoying each other's company. Dirk's pale skin was terrible at hiding the deep red flush on his face, and Jake couldn't help the way he glanced over at Dirk every so often. Occasionally, they'd lock eyes, and both would look away just as quickly. Gosh, he felt like a teenager in one of those high school romance movies, and it was both awkward and wonderful in it's own unique way.

Admittedly, Jake wasnt really sure what he was doing, or if he was doing it right, but he had never been romantically close to anyone before. He supposed he must be doing something correctly if Dirk was still here, willing to spend time with him and all.

His mind drifted back to his grandmother, and Jake decided he would convince her that this was a safe decision, or at least a beneficial one. Sure, he was aware Dirk could absolutely take advantage of him, but he wasn't going to doubt the merman's motivations when they'd spent so much time together already. It would do no good to distrust him, and even if his grandma was unsure, he trusted Dirk with his life.

All he needed to do was convince her he was right! Surely, she'd see it eventually.


	11. Jade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :V sloppy makeouts ahead.

"I have somewhere I want to take you today," Dirk told him when Jake waded into the water to sit with him that morning.

Over the past week, his grandmother had quit harassing him about the beach and Dirk, though she was still very open about her dislike of the situation. Jake had tried to ease her nerves, but she held her opinion just as strong as she had when she first found out, even at times watching them from the house with obvious disapproval.

"Oh?"

"Its pretty cool," Dirk replied, floating a little ways off in deeper water. Jake swam out to meet him, noting the way he was slowly drifting away from the shore, seemingly without meaning to, the tide pulling him away. Dirk extended an arm to him, and Jake reached out to take his hand, the merman pulling him over the moment Dirk had a grasp on his hand.

Jake smiled at him, watching Dirk sit up in the water, his bright tail waving lazily beneath the surface. It brushes over Jake's legs every so often, the golden scales smooth and cool and his thin fins feeling like cloth when they touch his skin. He kind of wanted to touch them, to be honest.

Dirk caught him staring, grinning over at him and teasing, "Like what you see, English?"

"Oh, shut your trap, Strider. Your tail is nice. There. Are you happy?" Jake replied, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, I was expecting you to kinda swoon or something, but--"

Jake interrupted him with a fake swoon just to please him, throwing a hand over his head and sinking down into the water. Dirk laughed at him and pulled him back up, and Jake leaned his head back on Dirk's chest, asking, "Better?"

"For sure," Dirk's tone was humored, and he reached out to pet through Jake's now-wet hair.

"Perfect, now you can put that little fantasy back where it came from because it wont be happening again," Jake told him, and Dirk's lips quirked up at the corners.

"Yeah, yeah. So, what, you're just humoring me?"

"Always," Jake rolled off of him, dipping down into the water and slicking his hair back and out of his eyes. "Well, come on, show me this new place you wanted to bring me to."

Dirk shook his head but pulled him along, away from the shore. Jake pulled his goggles down, pressing them to his face so they suctioned, and the moment he had, Dirk dove under the water with him in tow. The sun was bright that day, the sky entirely clear of clouds unlike the past few overcast days, and the water shimmered above them and bathed the colorful sea floor in light.

Out in the distance, they saw the underbelly of a boat, and Jake pulled away from him to pop his head above the surface, squinting as the little motorboat approached the island, heading around the left side toward the docks. At its helm stood Jade, his older cousin, with a pair of binoculars.

"Jade!" He called, and watched her pause and go to turn off the motor, looking around for the source of his voice, so he called out to her again, just as Dirk peeked above the water. "Come along, Strider, I met some of your family so its only fair you meet some of mine!"

Dirk hesitated when Jade finally noticed them, looking thoroughly shocked at seeing Jake swimming. "Jake? What the hell are you doing?"

"Jade! I have someone you need to meet!" He called back, not answering her question, and she turned the little boat and headed toward them, stopping to float only a few feet away.

"What the fuck?"

"I wasn't expecting you so early! Welcome back!" Jake pulled himself up on the side of the boat, treading water with his legs as he hung over the bow. The boat vibrated a little, idling in place, and he glanced back to wave Dirk over.

"Is that--?"

" _He!_ " Jake interrupted. "Don't be rude, Jade. This is Dirk."

She gave him a wary glance when Dirk actually headed over, the merman still hesitant. "Hey."

"Hey," she returned, looking between them. "So, uh... what's this about?"

"Oh! Well, Dirk and I are-- erm--" he turned to Dirk with a questioning look. "What exactly are we?"

"You guys are dating?" Jade asked, confusion only growing.

"Dating is a strong word," Dirk replied, and Jade raised her eyebrows.

"Accent. I like it," she commented passively, and Jake rolled his eyes.

"Yes, well--"

"If it makes you feel better I don't eat humans," Dirk interrupted, and Jade laughed at him.

"Wasn't really what I was worried about, Jake's already been through that shit so, like, I figured he wouldn't be _that_ stupid."

"You have more faith in me than Grandma does," Jake told her, and she grinned at him.

"Well, hey, if you turn up dead or whatever Grandma is gonna kill me for not trying to intervene but y'know what, you're an adult so. Eh. I don't know what she thinks she's going to do to stop you."

"She gave up," Dirk said, shrugging and pulling himself up and right into the boat. Jake stared at him from where he hung over the side, dumbfounded. "Sup?"

Jake dragged himself up, following Dirk's lead, and settled down next to his cousin. Dirk looked between the two of them curiously for a second before asking, "So, does your family have a thing with names that start with J? Jake, Jade and Grandma Jade, John, I mean seriously."

Jade grinned at him. "You've met John?"

"No," Jake told her, "He just knows _of_ John."

"Oh, hah, yeah I guess John would freak out huh?"

"Most definitely. He was around during the first... incident."

"So, uh, not to pry but when did that happen?" Dirk asked, and Jake glanced over at him.

"Roughly three or so years back. It's difficult to keep track when you live on the island."

"It'll be four in summer," Jade supplied, helpfully, and Dirk's brows furrowed as he subtracted.

"You-- you were only fifteen?" He sounded concerned but Jake shrugged it off.

"Its old news, love," Jake replied, but Dirk sat up, shaking his head.

"No-- no. That's fucked, Jake. You were just a _kid,_ I just assumed it was recent or something, not that you were a fuckin' _child_ when--"

Jake held up a hand, and he stopped. "Dirk. Please. It doesn't matter anymore. You helped a lot in letting me move past it."

Jade smiled lightly over at Jake, watching their interaction silently.

"Jake, I just-- fuck. Why didn't you tell me?" Dirk asked, genuinely concerned and horrified, and Jake sighed.

"It simply never came up," Jake replied, "Really, it isn't all that big of a deal anymore."

"It _is,_ I just-- fuck. I'm sorry, I wouldn't have bugged you so much about swimming with me if--"

"Strider..." He groaned, but Dirk kept going.

"Seriously, Jake, I get why you were really hesitant now and I'm sorry I didn't get it before. I shouldn't have pressed--"

"Dirk, please. If you hadn't pressed I would have never returned to the ocean, and I would have never gone to the reef or anywhere else that we explored. I don't regret it whatsoever, and I don't think you should, either."

Dirk went to respond, only to wheeze, and cough into his hand.

"You should probably get back in the water," Jade chimed in, and Jake laughed lightly when Dirk nodded and tipped himself back over the side of the boat. He stayed under the surface for a long moment before resurfacing and climbing back into the boat.

Jade grinned at him as he dragged a hand through his hair, tail waving a little. "I mean, that's fair, but I still feel shitty about it."

Rolling his eyes, Jake turned back to his cousin. "Anyway... I wasn't expecting you so soon! You're early!"

"It wasn't something I planned, but I actually graduated early because I was online this semester," Jade explained, and Dirk tilted his head, an unspoken question in his expression.

"What is it, Strider?" Jake asked.

"Uh, well, I was just wondering how long a semester is?"

"Oh, shit. I didn't even think about the fact that mermaids or whatever you are don't go to school," Jade replied, "A semester is like.. what, four-ish months I think? Sometimes five. Depends on the school. If you do it online its easier and way faster."

"Online?"

"Uh... yeah. Just forget it, its difficult."

Dirk didn't respond, but still seemed confused, and Jake gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. 

"Okay, well, I'm gonna go surprise Grandma. You still down for tuna fishing?"

Jake perked up at that. "Yes! Absolutely! It will be splendid!"

"Tuna fishing?" Dirk asked, "You can catch tuna here?"

"Oh, no, not here, Strider. We'll be taking the boat out and going on a week or so voyage across the ocean to prime tuna-catching waters!" Jake replied, and Jade smiled at him.

"Yeah! It's going to be awesome! We finally convinced Grandma to let us do it alone, she always had to come with in the past but I think she realized we can fend for ourselves now."

"Yes, it only took a decade or so," Jake said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Get off my boat so I can get out of the sun, I'm boiling alive out here."

∇

Dirk had lead him around to the far side of the island, arm locked around his waist far more protectively than Jake was sure was necessary, but he wasn't about to complain. The contact was actually nice-- comforting.

What wasn't so comforting was the dark, gaping maw of a cave Dirk had stopped in front of. Jake glanced over at him, wary, but the merman rolled his eyes and leaned in to blow hot air into him before pulling him along and into the dark.

As usual, it wasn't dark for long, Dirk's little spots coming to life and lighting their path. He lead Jake down through the cave system for what felt like hours before finally coming to a stop and pulling both of them up toward the cave ceiling.

When they surface below sea level and still inside the cave, Jake is thoroughly impressed.

"How--?"

"Oxygen pocket created by algae in the cave," Dirk explained. "Not sure how it works, to be honest, but I thought it was pretty cool the first time I found it."

Dirk deposited him on a little rock ledge, the water only up to his shoulders and the cave ceiling only a few feet above his head. Dirk's spots were beautiful here, reflecting off the moving surface of the water and sending little dots of gold light all over the rock walls around them. It was like a little dome, a perfect little bubble of peace and quiet, where Jake could still hear the heavy silence of the ocean outside as well as the gentle lapping of water on the rock around them.

He was close enough to hear Dirk's heart beating behind his chest when the merman pushed him up so he was sitting properly on the ledge.

"Pretty cool, right?"

"Its marvelous," Jake agreed, looking around. He didnt know how deep they were or where exactly they were in relation to the rocky cliffs nearby, and that was part of the appeal. It was a little place for only them, no one around that could hear or see them, no one to interrupt or make things weird.

_No one to hear you scream if things go south._

Jake shook the paranoid thought away as soon as it reared its ugly head, reaching out to touch Dirk's amber spots again. Dirk watched him with an unreadable expression, and Jakw glanced up to meet his gaze. Golly, those eyes were even more spectacular in the dim light, glowing of their own accord and focused so intently on him.

To his surprise, Dirk leaned down to kiss him out of nowhere, and Jake was stunned into stillness for a moment. It was nothing more than a chaste touch of their lips, but something new stirred in him at the privacy of their location and familiarity of those lips. He hadn't expected to be so familiar with them quite so quickly, but he wasn't upset about it.

A hand moved to cup his cheek, and Jake let him do it, leaning in go meet him. The kiss lingered for a moment, but Dirk didn't pull back the way he expected. After a moment of stillness and assumed deliberation, Dirk's teeth skimmed over his bottom lip. One of Jake's hands moved to his hair, seemingly without being consciously placed there, and Dirk made a soft, pleased sound against his lips that had heat stirring in the pit of Jake's stomach.

When Dirk pressed against him, he gave in, melting into Dirk's touches, his body, with a soft sigh. Jake couldn't deny it now, not with Dirk pressed against him like that; chest to chest, hips to hips, legs bent at the knees and his tail wrapped around them beneath the surface of the water. Jake was trapped by him, caged by his larger form, and he wasn't sure that he even actually minded.

When he kissed Jake for a second time, he responded in kind, gasping into Dirk's mouth as the merman's fingers trailed his skin, sharp nails gently mapping his chest in ways none ever had and he was sure none ever will. The path he made kept a gentle downward slope that continued back up the other way when Jake lurched and squeaked as the touch tickled around his navel. He didn't push, didn't encourage Jake to go farther with him, he simply remained there, keeping Jake pressed up along his body.

It's not until Jake pulled his other hand away from the wall of rock behind them to reach up to his hair that Dirk even moved all, shifting ever so slightly forward to keep both of them balanced on the ledge. His feet were nowhere near able to touch the sandy floor of the ocean to keep them from sliding off the slippery shelf, and he was thankful to Dirk's forethought as he reacquainted his slipping form with the rock.

Dirk's hands moved to press over Jake's ribs, fingers running over them in a way that made him wonder if the merman was counting. It wasn't long before Dirk left his mouth with a last, infuriatingly chaste kiss, and Jake almost complained.

Almost, because his mouth refocuses on Jake's jawline as soon as he frees his lips, and— _oh, that definitely should not feel as good as it does,_ Jake thought to himself, fingers tugging at his hair as Dirk nudged his head back. Jake let him, albeit a little reluctantly, but the attention Dirk lavished on his neck soon had him relaxing and resting his head against the cave wall at his back. Dirk's teeth skimmed dangerously close to his throat, and the feeling sent a thrill down Jake's spine that tingled at the tips of his fingers and made his toes curl a little, the faintest hint of excitement making his pulse spike.

Dirk nipped the next time, razor sharp teeth catching on Jake's skin, and the sound he released in response had him covering his face with one hand in embarrassment. When Dirk sucked at the skin there, he wriggled a bit beneath the merman's form, unsure how to deal with the sudden onslaught of dangerously tempting sensations.

The chuckle Dirk replied with made his breath catch; it was dark, sultry and oh so mischievous. Jake was unsure of what to do, so rather than flounder like an idiot, he chose to sink a little further down, a hand still covering his face to hide the embarrassed flush that Jake was no where near having under control. It took him a moment to realize that there was something tugging at that hand, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who it was.

When he peeked around his hand, Dirk was smiling at him, slender fingers wrapped around Jake's wrist, again trying to get him to stop hiding. He relented after a moment of consideration, and Dirk started to lean forward again, towards him, golden eyes trained on Jake in a way that simultaneously set him on fire and made him want to melt. He didn't understand how to feel about it, but Jake was immensely happy that Dirk kept the unspoken promise of trust between the two of them; he didn't push, he tested and moved away when it seemed too much, and for that Jake was thankful.

So Jake met him halfway, and Dirk's surprise was obvious, painted over his features as he closed the distance. He had never actually kissed anyone else before, growing up on an island alone with no one but his grandmother and the occasional cousin around doesn't help that, and Jake was certain he must be relatively bad at it, but Dirk didn't seem to mind much. Jake did his best, and Dirk didn't further the contact, one hand planted firmly on the rock shelf, the other a ghost of a presence over Jake's side. He took Jake's breath away in every sense of the term; the way Dirk's teeth bit at his lip, the way his hand touched his side every so often, barely a fleeting brush of his fingertips. He didn't understand why Dirk had chosen him, or, more specifically, why Jake had chosen him in return, but whatever the causes, he wouldn't have it any other way.

When the two of them parted, Jake could see him own emotions reflected back to him through Dirk; for once he looked nervous, eyes trained on Jake hopefully. He was unsure what to say to him, and instead simply replied with a smile, feeling down right _moronic_ about not being able to come up with some movie-worthy reply.

Dirk seemed to relax back into his usual self at the silent reassurance and Jake couldn't help but release the pent up breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He knew it wouldn't be some whirlwind romance like in the movies, but Jake was perfectly fine just taking his time. After all, he was in no rush to get extremely close, even if it was nice to have someone around who was truly his age and wasn't related to him.

Jake's arms were still hung loosely round Dirk's neck and his fish-tail is still coiled about Jake's legs, but he was sure he'll never again doubt Dirk's motives.

Dirk had closed his eyes again, and Jake couldn't help the little shock of exhilaration that pulsed through his veins like a sugar rush. He kissed Dirk for real; it wasn't just Dirk letting him breath underwater, or a tiny little peck on the lips, that was a _real kiss._ The very fact both excited and frightened him.

Jake had promised himself he wouldn't get this close to Dirk, for both of their hearts' safety, but he wasn't so sure he wanted to distance himself anymore. He couldn't yet say he loved Dirk, but he absolutely wouldn't dare say it was a mere crush any longer.

When Jake reached out to him, shifting an arm from his shoulders to gently trail his face, Dirk turns his gaze to meet Jake's, his brilliant, fiery orange eyes locked onto him, and the stare made it a little hard to breathe.

Jake wet his lips, now dry and flushed from Dirk's kisses, and the blonde leaned forward to press their foreheads together, eyes again closing. His breath fanned out over Jake's face as he let out a sigh, the end of it turning into a breathy chuckle.

"What is it?" Jake questioned, glancing up at him. Dirk's eyes opened again to look at him from only inches away, and Jake's breath caught at the comple tr rly unbridled affection and happiness in them.

"Nothing," he murmured, a hand reaching up to cup his face, thumb brushing over Jake's cheek. "Just really glad you let me actually kiss you. Been wanting to do that for a long time."

Jake laughed lightly at him, leaning into the touch, and Dirk's expression somehow softens even further. He'd never seen the merman look so unguarded and vulnerable, and it was a nice change.

"So," Jake started, voice quiet. "Did you bring me here just to kiss me silly?"

Dirk laughed at him, shaking his head. "Nah, just a nice bonus."

Jake rolled his eyes, calling Dirk a buffoon and figuring they could likely spend just a _little_ more time here before anyone became worried, and so he leaned back up to kiss the merman again.

Yes, he liked this place, Jake decided. It was their own secret world.


	12. Double Trouble

Jake's mind was clouded by the kiss the rest of the day, dazed and in a haze of confusion and desire to get back to the ocean to see him again. It was strange, as though the kiss had awakened something new in him, and though Jake had tried to focus and join conversation with his grandmother and cousin, his mind kept drifting back to the merman.

Eventually, Jade pulled him out of the room with her arms crossed and a terrible shit-eating grin on her face.

"You guys did something," she accused, and Jake floundered a little.

"I-- erm, well--"

"What is it?" Jade was almost vibrating with excitement, and Jake averted his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck.

"W-well, we kissed. Really kissed."

Jade paused. "That's it? Seriously? That's what you're all dreamy-eyes about? Lame."

Jake tried to protest that it most certainly was _not_ lame, but Jade waved him off and headed back into the kitchen. He followed her, jabbering about how important a first kiss was, and Jade ignored him as she reached for a cup and poured herself a glass of lemonade.

"Its not _that_ big of a deal. I thought you slept with him or something."

"No!"

"What, you don't want to, or--?"

"Well--well that's none of your beeswax, Jade!" Jake stammered, caught off guard by her prying. "We haven't known eachother long enough to do something like that!"

He hadn't even realized his grandmother was in the room until she shifted in her chair to put a pair of headphones on, expression disgruntled and obviously not wanting to hear about either of their sex lives-- or lack there of.

Jade laughed when he flushed a bright red and stammered out something completely unintelligible.

"Seriously though, dude. Lame. Gotta do something serious before you start going completely gaga over him," she continued to berate him, and Jake waved his hands wildly.

"That was serious! This was absolutely serious! A serious first step in our relationship!"

"Relationship? Didn't Dirk tell me earlier that you guys aren't even technically dating?"

"Only because you can't exactly _date_ a fish-man!" He defended, "We are most definitely serious and a kiss is serious buisness!"

"A kiss is _not_ serious. Most people kiss or even more after the first date," she told him, heading into the living room as she sipped her lemonade.

"W-wh-- the _first?!"_

"Yeah. When I go on dates kissing is, like, just part of the experience. If I like them I kiss them. That's normally how it goes," Jade explained as she flopped down onto the couch, tan skin sunburned from her boat trip over. "If you weren't living on Hellmurder Island you'd probably be kissing on the first date by now, too."

"I quite like the island, thank you very much!"

"Yeah?" Asked Jade, egging him on with a grin. "What part do you like? The animals that try to kill you, the people sized carnivorous plants, or the people-eating mermaids in the ocean?"

"W-well you listen here, I know what you're doing!"

She shrugged, downing the rest of her glass and swirling the left over ice. "I dunno, Jake. You should come experience real life sometime. I know you'll probably end up just manning the nets forever and all and that's totally cool and all, but don't you want to see the mainland?"

"Not.. particularly," he admitted. "I've visited John plenty, and the mainland is really not all that impressive. The cities are pretty at night and all, but they smell downright horrible."

Jade laughed at him, rolling her eyes. "You're spoiled from being a nature freak all your life. They're not that bad."

"Not that bad? You can hardly breathe for a moment without inhaling someone's cigarette smoke! And you can't see the stars! And there's trash everywhere!" Jake argued as he leaned on the edge of the couch. "The cities are horrible!"

"Hey, San Diego isn't bad at all! Its oceanside and really cool."

"The island is ocean-sided on every side," Jake told her, smiling. "You simply can't beat unending, litter-free beach for miles!"

"Yeah, yeah, sparkling waters, whatever. San Diego doesn't have killer mermaids."

"According to Dirk, you're incorrect," he quipped and she frowned at him.

"What, so sirens are just eating people in super crowded areas?"

"Well, Strider says usually they target night swimmers and the early morning surfers. He says its quite easy to make it seem like a shark attack if a siren is looking for a quick snack of lone swimmer rather than an entire meal."

Jade gave him a disgruntled and slightly horrified look at the casual way he said it, but didn't argue.

"Anyway," Jake continued, "I much prefer my beach and island with my little stretch of sparkling sea. A very pretty merman lives in it and I prefer that to stinky cities and oil-coated, plastic-littered, California waters."

"Honestly, that's fair," she relented finally, setting her glass down on the table and stretching out on the couch. "If I had a pretty blond mermaid paying attention to me I wouldn't want to leave either."

"Both of you are fawning over sirens now?" Their grandmother asked from the kitchen table, her headphones slightly skewed so she could still hear them over her music, seeming distressed. "For the love of everything good in this world, you two have to be careful and get over this little infatuation."

"Dirk is fantastic," Jake defended, and his grandmother shook her head. "Also he is _not_ a siren."

"I don't have a pretty mermaid to flirt with, but sometimes I wish I did," Jade replied, and Jake swore he watched their grandmother's soul leave her body for a moment at the response, visibly exhausted with her grandchildren.

She eventually simply stood and left the room to be out of earshot when they started talking again.

∇

Jade went with him when he headed to the beach the next morning, his cousin batting away the mosquitos that Jake was more than used to by now and tripping over rocks in their path.

"Living on an island is also good for developing dexterity," Jake teased, picking his way down the jungle path just as effortlessly as he did every morning.

They bickered back and forth the entire way down to the beach, and Jake was surprised when not one, but _two_ blondes came into view. A wide smile split across Jade's face when she saw Roxy chatting idly with Dirk on the beach, though neither had noticed them.

"You didn't tell me Dirk had a hot sister!"

"Because she eats people, Jade," Jake told her, and she waved him off.

"Hah, I only care if she eats pussy. She can eat me if she wants to afterward."

"Jade!" He hissed, face bright red at her salacious comment.

"I'm _kidding_ Jake, lighten up, dude," she laughed, punching him in the shoulder. "Kinda."

Dirk noticed them first, waving, and Jake watched Roxy turn, only to look over Jade in a way that was obviously impressed.

"Ooh, there are two jungle hotties today," Roxy commented when they came into earshot, and Jake watched as Jade hiked up her pants and waded right over to them.

"I'm Jade," she greeted, extending a hand, and Roxy took it with a sharky smile.

"Roxy," she replied, "Man, you're a _total_ babe. You Jakey's sister or somethin'?"

"Cousin," Dirk corrected, and Roxy glanced between them.

"Seriously? Y'all could be twins with how alike you look."

"Yeah, we get that a lot," Jade told her, "And thanks, you're not too bad yourself. I was just telling Jake I wished I had a pretty blonde mermaid to flirt with and I was super jealous of him. Looks like I lucked out."

"Ooh, is that right?"

"Uh, Jade--" Dirk started, but she waved him off.

"I know. She eats people, blah blah. Don't cockblock me."

Dirk glanced over to Jake who merely shrugged as he went to sit with Dirk in the water, the two both keeping a close eye on Roxy. Jake was fairly certain she wouldnt hurt Jade with them being family, but he would ask later to be sure. They watched the girls flirt casually for a bit before Dirk started up conversation.

"So, Jade's pretty bold, huh?"

"Indeed. She's been that way since we were little. She's my cousin John's older sister, and both of them are awfully straight forward, though John is far less confrontational."

Dirk nodded, and Jake looked over again when Jade waved at them.

"I'm gonna grab my bikini, I'll be back in a sec!"

Jake sighed, watching her dash back up to the house. "I did tell her to bring a bathing suit."

"Maaaaan your cousin is hot as _fuck,"_ Roxy said, and he watched Dirk roll his eyes.

"You wont hurt her, right?" He asked, and Roxy laughed.

"No, I'm not gonna touch her unless she wants me to. Don't need Di-Stri hunting me down for making you cry because I ate your cousin. And he totally would hunt me down, so I'm not gonna."

Jake sighed in relief at the reassurance, and Roxy grinned at him. His relief was short lived.

"Might eat her in a different way though, damn. Use those thighs like earmuffs. Yummy."

_"Roxy!"_


	13. Night Swimming

"C'mon, we aren't gonna go real far, Jake," Dirk nagged, one arm locked around his waist, and Jake sighed, pulling his goggles down.

"Weren't you the one warning about the dangers of the ocean at night just a bit over a week ago?" He asked, though he was really in no way concerned.

"Yeah? But we're gonna stick by the shore, _you_ wanted to see the reef and night and I said no."

"I did not! I said we should explore should we need to be together only at night if my grandmother were to continue to be bullheaded."

"Okay, whatever, same difference. We both know you want to see the reef at night. We aren't doing that, but I can still show you some cool shit."

"Alright, alright. I would just like to be back well before morning so I'm not caught by Jade and accused of having salacious happenings," he relented, and Dirk rolled his eyes.

"I swear, the way you describe things is unreal sometimes," the merman teased.

"You keep rolling those gold peepers of yours and they're going to roll right out of your stupid blonde head."

Dirk laughed at him, leaning over to kiss him lightly on the cheek before pulling him under the surface.

The ocean at night was interesting, dark and void-like, though moonlight broke through the haze of dark water. The dim light bathed everything in ethereal blues, the few fish that floated through the water shrouded in darkness and sticking close to the sea floor. It was beautiful in a completely alien way, so different from the bright colors of the ocean in daylight.

Dirk's bright spots were on full display, though they really didn't light up much around them, the little balls of light bright enough to glow more than a few inches around Dirk fading out into fuzziness at the lack of reflection so far beneath the surface. The ocean's ever-moving ceiling above them reflected the gold light and shimmered like stars, but even that wasn't enough to properly light them.

He looked different like that, in the open water, glowing. It was different than in the cave where the light bounced back to him, this was all Dirk-- a beacon of light in the darkness. Jake watched his bright, glowing eyes cut through the haze of water that surrounded them, like a pair of flashlights through heavy smoke, and after a moment Dirk noticed him watching, and glanced over his shoulder.

Golly, he really wanted to kiss Dirk now, looking like this especially. There was something surreal and a little dangerous about it, being unprotected, not a cave to hide them or kelp to get lost in. Jake couldn't help himself when he gave in, pulling a visibly surprised Dirk over to him. The merman watched him from only an inch or so away for a moment, eyes searching Jake's through the goggles, which Jake quickly ripped off. He didn't need them getting in the way, anyway, and so he tucked the obnoxious eyewear into the pocket of his swim trunks, squinting when the salt water stung his eyes.

Dirk's kiss was immediate, as almost the moment the goggles were gone, Dirk was pulling him close, chest to chest. It started slow, despite the initial enthusiasm, and Jake all but melted when Dirk's tongue skimmed his bottom lip before the merman pried his mouth open and took over. His eyes closed, hands tangling in Dirk's hair when Dirk breathed out into him, feeding him air even as the merman's tongue trailed over his teeth.

It was absurdly intimate, though it didn't last very long, Dirk slowly pulling back to look him over and run a hand over his face. He smiled lightly and took Jake's hand, leading him through the water again. They stuck close to shore, Dirk watching him from the corner of his eye as Jake's hand dragged along the crevassed side of the coast as they headed toward the rocky cliffs.

Since their first real kiss, Dirk had become incredibly protective and borderline posessive, and though Jake found it a little strange, he wasn't bothered enough to do or say anything about it. It was odd, but Jake assumed, perhaps, that it was very likely perfectly normal for Dirk's kind-- he still didn't know too much about the courtship side of it past Dirk mentioning something about a breeding season.

When they surfaced near the rocky shore, Jake climbing up onto a rock to sit for moment, he asked, "Awhile back you mentioned breeding season, how does that work?"

Dirk chuckled at the question, leaning against the rock he was seated on. "During the summertime, everyone congregates near the equator, and it's kind of a massive orgy for a few months. I've avoided it for years after the first time where I realized I was definitely not into chicks. Not that anyone gives a shit who you fuck, but the point is to get somebody pregnant and I'm not down for carrying babies."

"Wait, carrying?"

"Yeah," Dirk looked over at him. "I'm not gonna get pregnant just to have some fun. Fuck that."

Jake is astounded for a moment, and looks over him. "Males can carry children?"

"Yeah?" Dirk seemed confused for a minute, only for it to click. "You can't?"

"Well-- no. Men can't get pregnant. At least, human men can't," he explained, and Dirk clocked an eyebrow at him. "Only women can."

"That's fuckin' weird," he commented. "Seems really counterproductive. You seriously can't get pregnant?"

"No! Where on earth do you even carry a baby in there anyway?"

Dirk pulled himself out of the water a little and pointed at a slightly lighter colored area where his stomach meets his fish tail. "Somewhere around here, not really sure the logistics of it, but now I'm really fucking curious, if you can't get pregnant, how do you even have sex? Like, where does the dick go?"

Jake stammered a little at the blunt question, "W-well that's quite a personal question, Strider! I assumed we were somewhat similar in biological structure!"

"Obviously not," Dirk said with a laugh. "Seriously though, now I'm really curious."

"W-well-- erm, you see-- human men-- we, um--" Jake rubbed the back of his neck and motioned down. "Women have, well-- two-- two _openings,_ and we only have... one."

"I'm still not really getting it, dude," Dirk told him, "Everyone here has one, and a dick, just females tend to carry because its rarer to be gay. Doesnt really matter because kids hatch after you incubate them for a while and lay the egg."

"You lay eggs, too?" Jake asked, now even more confused. "Humans erm-- well, women give birth to babies."

"You don't hatch? There's no grub stage?"

"I mean, babies are awful ugly sometimes so I suppose grub is an adequate term, but no. Humans dont hatch at all, actually, and come out as tiny little humans."

"That's so fuckin' _weird."_ Dirk said again, shaking his head. "So it's like whales and shit, just-- a tiny human pops out one day?"

Jake nodded, red-faced. "Essentially, yes."

"Gross."

He laughed lightly, "Yes, it's a little gross."

"So, like, is your dick retractable or does it just hang out?"

Jake floundered for a moment over the question before stammering out a baffled, _"Pardon?"_

"Sorry if that's weird I just figured since we're on the topic I might as well ask. 'Cause, mine's here," he points to a little bump just below the area he had pointed out earlier. "And it just sucks back up there when I don't need it."

Jake stared at him for a moment before managing, "W-well, mine certainly does not do that."

"Humans are weird," Dirk said, returning to his relaxed position of leaning back against the rock, and Jake watched him with curiosity. Dirk caught him looking and grinned at him. "Sup?"

"Sorry, just thinking is all," Jake replied, quickly turning away. "Simply lots of new and strange information to mull over."

Dirk nodded, looking up at the bright stars above them. "So."

"So," Jake replied in kind, not sure what to say.

There was a long moment of quiet between them, and Jake rolled over to lay on his back to look at the sky, following Dirk's lead. It was nice tonight, not as terribly warm as it had been the past few, and the ocean breeze felt nice against Jake's wet skin. He had a lot on his mind, mostly about Dirk, and his face flushed a little when he began wondering what the differences were between them-- specifically what Dirk looked like... down there.

It was far too early in their relationship to ask without overstepping boundaries, and he was sure Dirk was just as curious.

He supposed it was just something he'd have to wait to find out, since show and tell was not on the to-do list tonight.


	14. Oddities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The little beads on the kelp are called air bladders. Kelp stalks, leaves and air bladders are all edible and actually pretty good for you. Only the acidweed kelp/seaweeds are harmful, but even then it's just mild indigestion. :)
> 
> This has been Useless Facts With Kaden.

The next morning, Jade again accompanied Jake down to the shore, jabbering about what a great time she had with Roxy and how she definitely liked her. Jake rolled his eyes but couln't hide the smile on his face, and Jade shoved him when she noticed. He laughed at her, telling her if she made him fall and he got hurt Dirk would never forgive her. 

She shoved him again just for good measure, and Jake tripped despite himself.

Both Dirk and Roxy were waiting when they got to the shore. This time Jade had foregone clothes and was in a green bikini, inadvertantly matching Jake's green swim trunks, and the cousins were thoroughly impressed when the two blondes whistled at almost the same time, though each had a different reaction.

"Shut your trap, Strider!" Jake called.

"Hey, sexy!" Jade greeted, and Jake turned to look at her, expression aghast as she headed over to Roxy.

Dirk laughed at the look on his face, "What, I don't get a _hey, sexy,_ too?"

"If you weren't such a dickprince, perhaps you would!" Jake replied, watching Dirk roll his eyes.

"Uptight today, somebody needs a swim," he commented, and despite Jake's insult, he waded out to meet Dirk. They both glanced over to the girls, who were already taking off into the ocean, Roxy giggling when Jade kicked water at her as they headed into deeper water before the blonde dragged Jade under the surface.

"Perhaps we should follow their lead?" Jake suggested, watching Dirk grin over his shoulder at him.

"Yeah?" Dirk asked, antagonizing him.

"Yes, don't look so smug, Strider."

He barely got the last word out, struggling to secure his goggles, before Dirk was pulling him along in the opposite direction the girls had gone, toward the kelp forest. They followed the slow decline of the sandy ocean floor for a while, Jake just taking in the scenery and watching the way the large schools of fish gradually faded out as they get to the barren expanse of water leading to the forest.

It was only a short while before it came into view, the two reaching the dark mass of vegetation much faster this time with Dirk propelling them forward. Dirk turned to feed him air just before they breached the outermost kelp, Dirk parting it like a curtain and pulling Jake along. The kelp felt a little slimy against his legs, but Jake couldn't be bothered to care, knowing, at least _this time,_ there wouldn't be any hands grabbing his ankles and spooking him.

He watched Dirk pick off a few neat little circular bulbs from the kelp leaves and pop them in his mouth, only to pause and hand one to Jake. He'd eaten seaweed before, but he'd never seen these little beads, and so he took one curiously, surprised when it nearly floated out of his hand when he went to look at it. Dirk grinned at him when he snagged it back as it tried to float to the surface, putting it in his mouth to stop it from escaping a second time. When he bit down on the little bead, it popped in his mouth, and Jake was surprised that it was mostly air, though it certainly tasted like seaweed. Dirk must've seen the surprise on his face because he looked as though he was struggling to restrain laughter.

Dirk gave a thumbs up, and Jake returned it, reaching for another. It was an interesting textural experience, and he didn't really know what to think, but he certainly didn't hate it. They were neat little snacks, and though the pop had surprised him, he had to admit it was a curious and somewhat strangely satisfying feeling. And so, he popped another with his teeth, and the urge to laugh hit him out of nowhere.

They were like tiny little ocean balloons!

Dirk watched him do it a few more times, grin only stretching wider as he nabbed a few for himself, too. They continued on throughout the kelp forest, both picking the little beads from the kelp as they went, and Jake gradually deciding he quite liked them. They were salty and had that bitter little tinge that seaweed always did, but there wasn't much to them, really, past the novelty of their little popping surprise. 

When they came out on the other side of the kelp, the ocean was a blank space ahead of them, dark blue but shimmering with filtered sunlight. Jake tilted his head up to look at the bright surface of the water above them, the sun a fuzzy yellow ball through the rippling ceiling above them.

He was surprised when Dirk leaned over to kiss his cheek gently before pulling him back along the side of the kelp, skirting the green-brown forest rather than going back through. Jake held up a hand suddenly, reaching out to take a few strips of kelp. Vaguely, he remembered years ago his grandmother had made some kind of kelp and fish soup, and it had been marvelous. Dirk didn't argue, watching him collect the greens before seeming to get an idea and pulling Jake along again, this time toward the rocky shoreline.

They surfaced together a ways out from the shore, and Dirk asked, "What're you collecting it for?"

"The kelp? Oh! Well, Grandma makes some fantastic soup with kelp and fish and... well I'm not sure what else, but its delicious!" He explained, only to pause and whack the side of his own head. "Oh, bother, I forgot to bring you those cheesey-mussels last time we cooked them!"

"What the fuck is cheesey?"

"Cheese. Its... well its cow milk but fermented? Gosh, saying it like that makes it sound terrible, but its actually quite delicious."

Dirk made a slightly disgruntled face. "Humans eat weird shit."

"Listen! Your kind eats people, so don't give me that whole weird food spiel, eating something while it's still alive it certainly the weirdest way to eat anything!"

"You eat raw mussels," Dirk pointed out, and Jake stammered a little.

"I don't make a habit of it, they're slimy! I prefer my food already dead and well cooked."

Dirk shrugged. "Guess that's fair, but that kelp was still alive too. Just cause you don't think about it, doesnt mean most things both of us eat aren't still alive. Like fish for me, they're a pain in the dick with all the wiggling, but they're damn good."

Sighing, Jake admitted, "Yes, I suppose you're right. I don't really think about plants and such being alive when I eat them, suppose it's rather strange to think about."

"Nature is weird. Everything is, honestly. Might as well embrace the weird," Dirk said, and Jake nodded.

"That's awfully optimistic of you, Dirk."

"Don't get used to it," he replied, though his tone was humored.

"You've been awfully optimistic as of late, I think it's more that _you're_ getting used to it," Jake argued, and Dirk rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever," he muttered, dipping under the water to wet his hair before coming back up. Dirk's eyes met his when he resurfaced, and Jake noted the way the merman glanced down at his lips for a moment before he looked back to his eyes.

By now, Jake was more than familiar with the little slip, knowing full well what it meant. So, he leaned over, closing the little distance between them to kiss Dirk, just a little peck, but the way Jake knew what he wanted was more than enough to surprise him. It was as though Dirk hadn't expected him to catch on to the myriad of not-so-subtle signals he gave each time, and Jake smiled lightly when he pulled away to see the start of a blush forming over the merman's cheeks.

It was cute, really. Jake quite liked seeing it, the way Dirk let his emotions slip whenever he did something that seemed out of the blue or was even remotely affectionate.

They were interrupted by the sound of Bec's barking, the dog standing on the rocky shoreline, and both broke from their little moment to look over at the dog. His grandmother came into view just behind Bec, and Jake huffed a little, glancing over at Dirk, who slowly began sinking back down into the water, obviously not thrilled at the idea of being seen. Jake took his wrist and tugged him toward the shore, and Dirk went reluctantly, stopping a ways off shore as Jake headed up toward the craggy rocks littering the beach.

"Jake! Where on earth is Jade? She told me she would help me fix that damned crank today!" She called out to him, and Jake clambered out of the water, Bec jumping up to greet him. "Bec! No jumping!"

Jake smiled, ruffling the dog's fur. Really, he did as he pleased, some days Jake didn't even see him, he roamed around the island and went wherever he pleased, so it was always nice to see him. Bec panted up at him when Jake pushed him back down on all fours rather than have him braced against his chest and balancing on his hind legs. "Good boy, Bec. Come on, come on!"

He jogged up to his grandmother, Bec trotting alongside him with his tongue hanging out. "I'm not sure, but I'll find her for you."

"If you wouldn't mind," his grandmother replied, smiling lightly before it turned to a scowl as she glanced back over at the ocean. Dirk's blond mop was visible over the waves, and she turned back to Jake with a frown. "I would really prefer you didn't swim with him."

"I know, Grandma, but--"

"I know I can't change your mind, I'm just telling you what I think of this situation."

Jake nodded, deciding not to stress her out by telling her about Roxy and Jade, figuring there was no reason to have her worry even more.

"Well, go find her before she gets herself into trouble. Considering the amount of trouble you've gotten into, I wouldn't be surprised if she got into worse, what with her track record and all. Her father would never forgive me if something happened to her."

He smiled lightly at her, "I will! Dirk and I are going to go around to the other beach and I'll look for her from there."

She grimaced a little at that, but gave a curt little nod nevertheless. "If you insist on doing it that way, I guess."

"I do," Jake assured, but his tone was light, and he leaned over to give his grandmother a little kiss on the cheek. "I'll be fine, Grandma, and I'll find Jade as soon as I can. Lord knows where she's gotten off to."

Despite her sour mood, she smiled at the little bit of affection he showed, and patted his head. "Alright, alright. I'll let you go now. You're an adult, I suppose."

"You suppose! Grandma, I'm nineteen!"

"And yet you still act twelve," she joked, and Jake stuck his tongue out at her. "Go on, shoo. Go collect Jade so we can get that crank fixed before its ridiculously hot out."

He reached down to pet Bec again before heading back toward the shore, watching Dirk perk up a little at his return, and waved to the merman as he splashed his way into the shallows.

∇

When they found Jade and Roxy, Jake kind of wished they hadn't. Jade's bikini top was up around her neck, the back strings untied and Roxy feeling her up, backed up against a large rock and hidden from the shore.

Jake turned away, red-faced, and Dirk cleared his throat. Roxy paused, though her hands didn't move from Jade's chest, their mouths separating for a moment.

"What's up?" She asked, a little breathless, and Jake heard Dirk chuckle.

"Jade, your grandma needs you. She says you're supposed to help with the crank today."

"Oh _shit!"_ Jade cried, tugging her bikini top back down and struggling a little to tie it. "I totally forgot. Fuck me, man!"

Roxy laughed at her sudden change in attitude, reaching over to help her tie the thin strings on her bikini. "Wanna pick this up later?"

"Is that even a question? Yeah, obviously," Jade replied, and when her bikini was secured again she leaned over to lock lips with Dirk's sister again, arms wrapping around Roxy's neck for a moment before breaking away again. "Okay, I'll be back!"

The three watched her swim back to shore, and Roxy sighed. "Goddamn, that girl's runnin' me ragged, Di-Stri. Fuck, she's so hot."

"Can we please not talk about how hot my cousin may or may not be?" Jake requested, and both blondes laughed at him.

"Dont worry, Jakey, you're pretty hot too," Roxy assured, making him stammer a little.

"I second that," Dirk added, grinning at the dark flush that rose to his cheeks.

"Jakey, if you had tits you'd be ideal," Roxy continued, though Dirk gave her a look of mild disgust. "She's, like, you but with tits. Total perfection."

Jake stared at her in horrified, stunned silence at the comparison, and Dirk shook his head like he was trying to shake the mental image Roxy had given them both. Roxy's grin was wide at the effect her words had on them, obviously very pleased with herself.

Jake was relieved when Dirk pulled him back out into the ocean and away from Roxy's sexual comments about his cousin.


	15. A Midnight Romp

Jade slipped out of the house that night, having tiptoed down the stairs and tripple checked that her grandmother was asleep, before closing the door silently behind her and all but racing down toward the beach. She tripped over the path, barefoot, cursing quietly and wondering how the fuck Jake did this every day.

Also, how the fuck did Jake not know how a goddamn crank worked?! Idiot cousin messed up her makeout session with a hot mermaid!

She continued to mentally berate Jake's lack of mechanical skills, but the annoyance faded when she got close enough to the beach to watch Roxy surface and wave excitedly to her.

_God. Yes. Fuck._ Jade could hardly think straight, wondering how she got so whipped in only a couple days and wondering if Jake was equally as whipped. Probably, fuckin' Jake and his bullshit. Whatever, she was winning the sex race.

She waded into the water to meet Roxy, unable to help the flush that rose to her cheeks when Roxy lifted herself out of the water just enough to wrap her arms around Jade's waist and drag her down. Roxy's hands slid up her sides, making Jade shiver a little, and the siren pulled her into a kiss, though a couple sharp teeth caught on her lips and made her bleed.

Honestly, that was kinda hot, so Jade didn't mind.

Roxy's tongue flicked out to lap up the little bit of blood she had caused to well up to the surface, humming appreciatively at the taste, and Jade's arms hung over her shoulders, hands splayed over her back. Roxy's pink spots were lit up brightly, illuminating them.

Jade opened her eyes a little despite still kissing Roxy, but she couldn't help but want to see the bright light. Even the fins over where her ears were had little spots on them, and she noticed those little fins had folded back a little, dropped much lower than usual. The bright pink frills of the gills on her sides brushed over the side of Jade's stomach, an interesting feeling but not necessarily unpleasant.

She was beautiful, really, and Jade totally understood why sailors would tip themselves overboard at the sight of someone like her.

When they eventually separated, Roxy said, "God, that bikini looks soooooo sexy on you, but y'know what?"

"What?" Jade asked, already knowing what she was going to say, but playing along anyway.

"You'd look better with it off," _Bingo._ "Natural beauty, I ain't hidin' my tits so no hidin' yours!"

Jade laughed at the addition to the comment she expected, and obliged, tossing her bikini top back onto the sandy beach. "Happy now?"

"Oh yeah, come to mama!"

∇

"Gross. Yeah let's get out of here before they realize they're in earshot," Dirk said, grimacing.

"I wonder if Jade even realized I snuck out first?" Jake asked absently as Dirk pulled him along around the corner of the rocks, the merman chuckling at the question.

"Probably not, or she probably wouldn't have been so eager to get naked," Dirk reasoned, and Jake puffed out a laugh.

"You'd be surprised. When we were younger, it was impossible to keep clothes on her. She just ripped them off whenever she wanted."

"Huh. Weird. I dig it, clothes seem annoying, that's why sirens don't wear any."

"Other than the fact you live in the ocean and they'd rot into rags," Jake pointed out, and Dirk shrugged.

"Yeah, fair."

When they were far enough away from the girls, Dirk pressed him back into a rock, picking up the kiss that they had been rudely interrupted in the middle of. As always, he moved slow, eyes searching Jake's expression for any sign of hesitation before leaning in. Jake moved to meet him, surprised when Dirk caught his hands in his, weaving their fingers together and pushing them back against the rock.

He was glad they were still in the shallows so he didn't have to worry about sliding off a rock shelf like during their first real one. Dirk's kiss started as a series of little, chaste kisses, until Jake got impatient and nipped at his mouth. The merman actually paused for a moment at the eagerness, and drew back a little.

"Damn, English, you got a plan tonight? Awful impatient. You trying to deflower me? Take advantage of my fair maiden self?" He joked, and Jake stuck his tongue out at the merman.

"Ha-ha, you're uproariously funny, don't you know?" Jake asked sarcastically. "Kiss me like you mean it, you oaf."

"Damn, pushy pushy."

Despite Dirk picking on him a little, he leaned in and obliged the demand, movements still slow and measured, but at least he was actually kissing Jake now rather than teasing him. He relaxed into the merman's ministrations as Dirk's tongue ran over his lip, asking for entrance, and Jake gave it to him.

It was a slow takeover, Dirk's tongue mapping over his teeth in leisurely movments, languid and careful not to overstep any boundaries. Jake tightened his grasp a little on their laced fingers, letting Dirk explore him without worry. He knew by now that he had no reason to doubt him, sighing softly into Dirk's mouth when the merman's tongue moved to caress his. As usual, it felt absurdly intimate to be so close, and his breath caught a little when Dirk's chest pressed into his, reminiscent of their first kiss. Honestly, it was a little overwhelming to think about, so Jake chose to focus on the feeling to Dirk's breathh against his skin, fanning out over the his face as he exhaled slowly from his nose. He was nowhere near as worked up as Jake, content to just share their close moment, but for the first time in a _very_ long time, Jake considered doing more.

He shut it down quickly, knowing it was just the moment talking and that he would probably not be able to handle it, but he couldn't help the little shiver that wracked him at the idea of it. It would be different, he'd be allowing it to happen, and though he knew he wasn't ready quite yet, part of him knew he would let Dirk have him without argument if he wanted it, too.

When Dirk broke from him to drag his lips over his jaw, Jake didn't argue, didn't show any kind of resistance, head tipped to the side to let Dirk do as he pleased. Again, his advance was slow, pausing every so often to ask if it was okay, and Jake would just nod and mumble an affirmative, heart rate surprisingly calm compared to the heat in his face. That mouth dipped over the curve of his jaw, down to his neck, and though his breath caught a little and his pulse spiked, Jake encouraged him onward quietly.

He gasped out when Dirk's mouth suctioned around a little patch of skin on his throat, sucking gently and making him melt. It was a completely different feeling from anything else he had ever felt before, and Jake let him continue to suck his way down his throat, only to pull away with a yelp when his mouth accidentally touched the crescent scars over his skin.

Dirk pulled back immediately, managing a breathless apology. "Sorry, baby, forgot about it. You okay?"

Butterflies erupted in his stomach at the endearment, and he nodded, leaning back up to him again. Dirk met him halfway, kissing him deeply and pressing him back into the rock again. Honestly, Jake could get used to this, to the gentle push and pull, the exchange of breath between them.

A shriek from somewhere out in the water startled them out of their moment, and both pause to look over the dark water, but the unsettling sound was quickly followed by two sets of giggles, and Jake laughed breathlessly, relieved. Dirk turned back to him to kiss up the side of his neck that wasn't scarred by a bite, Jake relaxing back into state of bliss he'd achieved earlier.

His hands again tightened on Dirk's when the merman's lips dipped down further, brushing over his collarbone. He paused for a moment, checking, but when Jake didn't resist him he continued, sucking more little bruises as his mouth explored along Jake's shoudler.

They stayed like that for a while, just reveling in each other's company for what felt like hours, Dirk pausing between hickeys to kiss him and turn him to nothing more than a puddle of bliss. It was fantastic, really, but they were again rudely interrupted by the sound of splashing.

Both looked up, watching Jade climb onto the beach, only to pause and lean down to kiss Roxy, who looked more than a little distressed. She reached up to Jade, patting over her shoulder, and Jake squinted, struggling to make out what was happening between his bad eyesight and the heavy darkness of the night.

"Holy shit," Dirk said, suddenly releasing him, and Jake glanced over to him.

"What?"

"Roxy fucking bit her! Are you shitting me?!"

"She _what?!_ " Jake gasped, immediately on high alert as he came splashing back to shore, his cousin looking up and giving him a wave and a little smile. She didn't seem half as upset as Roxy, even though the siren was repeating apologies. Jade waved her off, leaning over to kiss her again before laughing.

"Its fine, I'm totally fine. I'm gonna go bandage this up, I'm still down if you are!" Jade told her. Dirk was close behind Jake, beaching himself to start beating his sister, only to stop dead when she looked at him with a quivering lip.

"I-- I really didn't mean to, I swear!"

"Jake, c'mon, help me fix this so grandma doesn't see it!" Jade called to him, watching him splash his way out of the water in a slight panic, hands flying.

"How are you so calm about this?! You're bleeding all over the place!"

Jade laughed at him, rolling her eyes, and tugged him toward the house, snagging her bikini top as she went.

∇

"Ow! Shit, Jake quit it!" Jade snapped, pushing him away.

"Come now, Jade, you need to clean it out, if it gets infected and Grandma sees it I'll be dead meat for knowing and not saying anything," He replied, patting over the marred flesh of her shoulder with an alcohol pad despite her protests. They were seated on the floor of Jake's room, having successfully snuck back into the house in the waning hours of the morning. "Did she try to eat you?"

"No, Jesus, she promised she wouldn't. We just got carried away," Jade explained, sighing. "Y'know, even female mermaids have dicks?"

"Dirk mentioned something about that. He can get pregnant, apparently," Jake replied, and Jade glanced over her shoulder at him, only to wince.

"Seriously?"

"That's what he told me, at least. He was surprised I couldn't get pregnant."

"Weird," Jade said, only to hiss when Jake dragged the pad over a particularly sensitive part of the bite on her shoulder. "Ouch!"

"Sorry," he apologized, patting her back lightly as he cleaned out the rest of the bite. It was still dribbling blood, though it wasn't terribly deep. A thought came to his mind suddenly, and he asked, "What-- what do they look like?"

"What, mermaid dicks?"

"Er, yes," he managed, awkwardly, and dropped the bloody pad in his hand to reach for a clean one.

"They're like... tentacles I guess? A weird pink tentacle, but man it feels good," she said, and Jake did his best to hide the furious blush on his face, mind wandering to places he wished it wouldn't. "Dirk's probably isn't pink though."

_"Jade!"_

"Honestly, I assumed you already knew what they looked like, you've got major hickies."

"At least my mermaid didn't bite me," he muttered, bitterly.

There was no way to hide the bruises from Dirk's lascivious ministrations, so he would have to face his grandmother with them all over his neck and shoulders. They were embarrassing to look at, really, but the way they burned hot against his skin made his face burn even hotter at the memory of Dirk's mouth reducing him to putty.

Jade laughed at his response, rolling her eyes, and he pressed the alcohol pad back onto her wound, wiping away the last of the blood and saltwater. She winced at his cleaning, but ultimately thanked him for it as he finished up and proceeded to put a bunch of little sticky bandages over the marred skin.

"You're welcome. You know, Dirk says females don't usually mark," he commented idly, and Jade shrugged, only to grimace as the movement jarred her shoulder.

"He probably didn't take lesbians into account," Jade mused, and Jake nodded, patting over the bandages to make sure they were secure before standing and offering Jade a hand up.

"Suppose we match now," he chuckled lightly, watching Jade take his hand as he pulled her to her feet.

"Hah, yeah, we do," she agreed, poking at the scar on his neck. It didn't hurt when she touched it the way it did when Dirk touched it, and he made a mental note to ask about that. "Dirk's gotta override that."

"I'd prefer not to be bitten again," Jake told her as he released her hand, "It was enough trouble to deal with the first one."

"Yeah, but I know you said it hurt like a motherfucker, and really it didn't hurt that bad. Maybe part of it is consent?"

"Well, I'm sure Dirk _'overriding'_ a bite that's already painful anytime he touches it wouldn't be pleasant, consent or no. Plus, the first time, that thing was trying very hard to rip my throat out!"

"Huh. It hurts? Did it hurt when I touched it?"

"No, but you also aren't a mermaid."

"Roxy said something about them being a warning for other sirens to keep away, so I guess that makes sense. Hey! At least that means nobody's gonna bite you except maybe Dirk, right?"

"Again," Jake started, sighing, "I'd prefer to keep my neck a safe distance from those chompers."

"Your neck says otherwise," Jade teased, and he shoved her lightly.

"Oh, shut your trap!"


	16. Popsicles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not to be a needy bitch but I love reading ya'lls comments... feed me haha 
> 
> NSFW content ahead.

Jake had been berated most of the day by his grandmother over the sight of him, taking his fall with only mild embarassment in order to keep her from noticing the little white edge of the bandage poking out from Jade's shirt collar. Hickies were certainly easier to explain than a bite, especially after Jake's experience with his bite.

Eventually, the two of them managed to escape their grandmother's badgering, heading down to the beach.

Jake let out a long sigh, a hand over his face. "Golly, that was _awful!"_

"Thanks for covering for me, dude," Jade said, following after him as they headed to the rocky beach rather than the usual one. She pulled off the soft cotton t-shirt she was wearing, revealing the bikini top hiding underneath, and, subsequently, the bandaged area on her right shoulder.

"Of course, I'd be in trouble, too, if she found out! Neither of us need her banning us from the water!" Jake replied, picking up his pace as they got to the large outcroppings leading to the rougher beach.

As they reached it, Jade tossed him a popsicle out of the little insulated bag hanging off her left shoulder, more of a lunchbox with a strap than anything. Jake fumbled and nearly dropped it, managing to trip over himself to catch the edge slippery wrapper. Jade had stopped to watch him with an unimpressed look, and he huffed as he righted his posture, peeling the wrapper off and grinning. Strawberry flavor! His favorite!

"Did you bring these with you?" He asked, and she rolled her eyes, continuing to walk, the two picking their way down the slippery rocks as saltwater mist sprayed their faces.

"Obviously. Grandma never leaves this damn place and neither do you," Jade replied, sitting down to slide off one of the larger rocks and onto the beach, wincing a little when her bare feet hit the rocky shore. "Ow."

Jake followed, unbothered. He had enough callouses anymore that he hardly felt anything but the slight pressure of landing on the little pebbles, and straightened up to continue on even as Jade lifted a knee to her chest and picked a few little rocks from between her toes.

Jake hummed to himself as he walked along the beach, popsicle in his mouth, and the two finally reached the tide pools, alive with all sorts of little creatures. They were pretty stunning, really, and Jake had loved exploring then and catching the critters when he was young. His grandmother had always badgered him to make sure he put everything back where they had been when he was finishing harassing them.

He dragged a hand along one of the many large boulders littering the shore, slimy and coated in algae from the time of day when the high tide submerged most of this portion of beach. Further out, large swells crashed into rock shelves, but this small beach was a haven of sorts, a kind of bowl in the rocks that protected them from most of the rougher waves.

Jake didn't notice Dirk for a moment, the merman lounging a ways to his left, soaking in the sun. "Hey Jake."

He turned, hand reaching up to pull the quickly-melting popsicle from his mouth. "Hello, Dirk!"

"Sup Jade," he greeted when she came into view, sliding off his rock to swim over to them. It was rather neat to watch him swim from afar, cutting effortlessly through the water even with the oddly strong current at this particular stretch of coastline. When he resurfaced, he glanced to the popsicle in Jake's hand, and almost immediately Jade was tossing him one.

He caught it far easier than Jake had, sharp nails cutting through the flimsy wrapping and snagging it out of midair. He turned it over a few times curiously, and Jake motioned for him to open it.

"The fuck is this?" He asked when he was holding the stick in his hands, the melting orange syrup dribbling down his fingers. "Why is it cold?"

"Its a popsicle!" Jake answered. "Try it! It's quite delicious. It's cold because its frozen."

Dirk did, putting almost the whole thing in his mouth, and Jake choked a little on his own at the sight. The merman pulled the little frozen snack away for a moment, licking up the side of it and grinning. "Damn, this shit is good. Never had anything like this."

Jade elbowed Jake hard in the ribs at the way he was staring, mumbling the word _pervert_ at him. 

Dirk glanced up at them, an eyebrow cocked at the interaction. "What?"

"N-nothing!" Jake managed, quickly averting his gaze, and so Dirk shrugged and sucked at the tip of the popsicle again, seeming pleased with it. Jake couldn't help but watch him out of the corner of his eye, face red and mind diving into places it shouldn't. _Golly, popsicles were a terrible idea,_ he thought to himself, gaze lingering on Dirk as he lounged back in the sand.

"You gonna come over here or just stand there, Jake?" He asked, and Jake stammered, not even sure what he was trying to say, but went to sit next to him anyway, nibbling on the tip of his own popsicle. He'd never seen someone unintentionally eat a popsicle so salaciously, and that only made it worse because Dirk didn't even _know_ what he was doing to him.

Jake glanced at him again, only to cringe when Dirk bit the popsicle in half and swallowed it. _Jegus..._

Jade sniggered at them from her place lounging on the beach, and Dirk threw a curious look over to Jake at his beet-red face before realization dawned on him.

"Hey, Jake."

Jake glanced at him sidelong, biting his lip, and Dirk raised his eyebrows at the expression on his face. He almost choked when Dirk purposefully deepthroated what was left of the popsicle after giving him a lascivious grin. Jade lost it, laughter bursting out of her at the antics as Jake stared in complete disbelief. This time, Dirk didn't bite the popsicle, instead dragging it out slowly from between his lips, and Jake hid his face in his hands, but the image was already burned into his mind.

_Please don't pop a boner, please don't pop a boner, please don't pop a boner!_ he chanted mentally, willing away the embarrassing heat in his stomach. Dirk scooted a little closer, to his dismay, and leaned over.

"Hey," he said again, voice hushed, mouth only inches away from Jake's ear. Jake could feel Dirk's hot breath fanning out over his skin, and exhaled shakily, trying to stay calm. "You gettin' off on this as much as I think you are?"

Jake shot to his feet, tripping over himself, and Dirk chuckled, dragging him back down by the waist, only to pause in surprise when Jake went stock still and shook a little. "What--"

"Dude, do you seriously have a boner right now?" Jade asked, glancing over at them with a nonplussed expression, and Jake didn't even know how to answer that question.

"N-no," he lied, only to shriek when Dirk reached out to touch his stomach. _"Strider!"_

"A'ight I'm outta here," Jade told them, standing and jogging back up the way she came.

Dirk pulled him down the rest of the way, and Jake's breath caught when he ended up on his knees, straddling the merman's tail. The rocks dug into his legs, but he couldn't be bothered to care at that moment, eyes wide and locked on Dirk who looked over him with curiosity. The way those golden eyes raked over him was overwhelming, and for a moment he completely forgot how to breathe, so caught up in Dirk's intense stare.

Dirk glanced back up to his eyes, pausing. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," he managed, breathlessly, and they were still for a moment before Dirk's hands reached up to his face and pulled him down.

He paused again a few inches away, and Jake shivered at the gentleness of it, the way he stopped to check.

"What's a boner?" Dirk asked, voice hushed, but the ridiculousness of the words made Jake laugh, knocking his forehead against Dirk's. "No, seriously, the fuck does that mean?"

Jake shifted a little, mildly uncomfortable at having to explain it, and averted his eyes. "W-well-- it means that y-you got me... excited... a bit."

Dirk's expression turned mischievous at that, and he leaned forward to close the little distance between their mouths, one hand leaving Jake's face. He was suspicious for a moment about where that hand was going, only to gasp into the merman's mouth when a hand grabbed his ass and yanked him forward.

Both froze for a moment, Jake out of pure humiliation and Dirk out of confusion. He was pressed directly into Dirk's chest, hips against his stomach, and he _knew_ Dirk could feel it.

"D-Dirk," he managed quietly, eyes wide, and Dirk glanced down between them, though his hands didn't move.

"Oh. I guess I get why it's called a boner," he commented, glancing back up at Jake. "So... uh, how does that... work?"

Jake blushed furiously, looking away again, and to his surprise Dirk's tumbs made little circles in his hip bones, the movement surprisingly comforting.

Quietly, he managed, "W-well it-- it will go away on its own."

"If that's what you want, I'll leave it alone," Dirk replied just as quietly, though he glanced down again.

"W-well-- what... do you want?" He asked, feeling awkward and embarrassed.

"Jake," he started, a little hesitantly. "I'm not going to do anything you don't want. You've gotta tell me if I go too far, okay?"

Jake nodded, tucking his face into the side of Dirk's neck. His breath hitched a little when hands slowly moved around to his stomach, the feeling ticklish but not overly so. His nails were sharp, but Dirk was being careful, and Jake's mind flickered back to an old dream at the feeling of them gliding gently over his skin. His touches were naught but a ghost of fingertips, murmuring little things into Jake's ear that he was a little too anxious to make out, though he did catch a word or two every so often. Little praises poured from him, Dirk's lips a phantom presence over his neck and jaw, and Jake couldn't help the shudder that wracked through him when a thumb pressed under the waistband of his swim trunks.

It was slow, just as everything else had been, the waves a gentle caress at his thighs, the two just deep enough in the water that Dirk could breathe. Jake's hands found their way to Dirk's hair, burying in the damp, blonde locks that stuck up a little in the back, his usual gravity-defying spikes making for a decent handhold.

A low groan slipped out of Dirk at the contact, and Jake let out a choked gasp when his hand dipped a little lower, following the planes of Jake's stomach, down past his waistband.

"Still okay?" Dirk asked, though his sounded a little ragged, husky. Jake nodded, face still pressed to the junction of the merman's neck, and Dirk gave him a moment before continuing onward. "Just tell me if it's too much."

Honestly, it _was_ a little overwhelming, but Jake wasn't about to stop him now. Jake's mouth dropped open when Dirk's fingers brushed him, and he could taste the saltwater on his skin, could smell the lingering scent of citrus on his breath from the popsicle. His fingers pressed lightly over Jake's length, and Jake's hands tightened in his hair in response.

"Shit, this thing's really sensitive," Dirk commented with a breathy chuckle, shifting a little in the water. "You still good?"

Jake didn't respond, too wrapped up in it all until Dirk said his name worriedly.

"Y-yes, I'm alright," he murmured, voice muffled against Dirk's skin, and the merman turned to press a kiss into his neck.

"You look really good with these hickies," he said quietly, and Jake felt his face flush impossibly darker, managing a breathless laugh.

"Sh-shut your trap."

"You can't tell me to shut up when I'm trying to give you a hand job, Jake," Dirk replied, humored, and Jake considered telling him to shut up again. Instead, he gave a gentle tug to Dirk's hair as a lighthearted reprimand. "Rude."

His hand moved slowly down to wrap around him, and he heard Dirk chuckle through his haze. Everything was quiet and still for a moment, and then Dirk pulled gently at him, hand sliding up his shaft before moving back down. Jake's breath caught, and Dirk paused.

"P-please," he managed quietly, "Don't stop."

So, Dirk continued, free hand wrapping around Jake's back as the other worked him in smooth, languid strokes, palm still damp enough to be comfortable. His mouth lingered over Jake's neck, littering it with little kisses and murmuring sweet nothings to him, and before long Jake was shaking, hands fisted in his hair.

_"Dirk,"_ he managed quietly, the name coming out as more of a moan than a word, and Dirk pulled him closer still, picking up his pace just a little. Jake couldn't hold still anymore, hips rocking up into his palm, and Dirk again kissed his neck.

"I love you," he said, softly, just barely a whisper, and Jake gasped at the way his hips stuttered at the way he said it; full of affection and entirely genuine.

It was enough to tip him over the edge, and he again moaned Dirk's name, albeit quietly, as he spilled into the merman's palm. Dirk worked him through it, slowing to a gradual halt as Jake's hands slowly loosened in his hair. He was breathing heavily into Dirk's skin, and they stayed still for a long moment, pressed close along one another, sweltering skin pressed together.

They separated slowly, Dirk's hand pulling away and dipping into the water beside them. His other was still pressed against Jake's back, and they sat together for a long moment, Jake's fingers still wrapped in his hair. Dirk's eyes found his, leaning in to kiss him, and Jake met him halfway, still only half aware in his post-coital haze.

Dirk's tongue dragged over his lip, pressing past the moment Jake replied in kind, hand moving from Jake's back to cup his cheek. They broke away after a moment, and Jake let out a shaky breath against Dirk's mouth.

"Hey," Dirk said, quietly, and Jake smiled dazedly at him.

"Hey," he replied, and Dirk smiled back.

"Was that okay?"

"More than okay," Jake told him, leaning over to kiss Dirk's cheek, tired.

"Good. You wanna swim?" Jake shook his head, gluing himself back to Dirk's chest. A laugh rumbled in the merman's chest as he laid them back in the surf.

Comfortable and satiated, Jake decided that, maybe, it wouldn't be a bad thing to just have a relaxed day today.


	17. Reverie

The start of the high tide woke Jake from his peaceful nap on Dirk's chest, water lapping at his face and burning the inside of his nose. His skin was red and a little sunburned, and when he blinked the haze of sleep from his eyes and looked down, Dirk was still there, completely submerged, gills opening and closing with the rise and fall of his chest.

Jake couldn't help but watch, arms braced on either side of Dirk's shoulders so as not to wake him, despite the rising tide. He looked peaceful like that, face completely relaxed, content to fall asleep with Jake and sure he was in no danger. It made his heart flutter a little, realizing the immense amount of trust Dirk had in him. His hair was moving with the waves, floating in the water around his face, blonde wisps brushing over his pale, freckled skin.

Jake sighed to himself, sitting back slowly to rub his eyes again.

"Oh my god."

He looked up to see Roxy grinning at him from a ways away, obviously just having found them.

"Hello, Roxy!" He called, smiling, but she gave him a knowing look.

"You look tired, Jakey. You guys up to something?" She asked, and Jake's smile turned sheepish.

"N-no! Of course not!" He defended, though the couple of _very_ new hickeys on his neck told a different story.

"Yeah, suuuure," she said, sliding up beside them into shallower water. "You guys totes did somethin'."

"I do believe you have _no_ room to talk!" Jake chided, crossing his arms, though he was still sitting over Dirk. 

"How long has he been out? Y'all were napping?" She asked, ignoring his comment as she leaned over to look at her brother.

"Yes, we were-- until high tide began to roll in and so rudely interrupted it," he replied, frowning. "Sadly, I cannot breathe underwater like you two."

"Huh. Man, I've never seen Di-Stri sleep in the shallows," She said.

Jake glanced around for a moment, and then back to Roxy. "Where has Jade gotten off to?"

"Oh, heh, about that," Roxy rubbed the back of her neck, glancing away. "We kinda got caught."

"Grandma?" Jake guessed, and Roxy nodded. "Spectacular."

"Yeah she was totes pissed," Roxy confirmed. "Like, yelling and both of them losing their collective shit pissed. They look a hell of a lot alike."

"Well, Jade was named after Grandma, and they really do butt heads sometime since they're so alike in personality."

Roxy nodded, expression thoughtful, and then turned her attention to Dirk again. "Man he's _out!"_

Jake smiled lightly, barely resisting the urge to pet his face. "He's rather peaceful like this, isn't he?"

Roxy nodded, then flopped back in the sand, letting the surf cover her as well. Jake huffed a little, _Well, now you're just showing off-- rubbing it in my face that I don't have gills!_

He watched her snake a hand over to her brother before shoving a finger in his ear. Dirk woke with an unmanly gasp, jerking out of the water fast enough to headbutt Jake before he could dodge it. Both groaned at the contact, foreheads knocking together painfully hard.

Jake put a hand to his face, grimacing, "Ouch! Consarnit, Strider!"

They both threw an accusing glance over to Roxy, who was grinning at them from under the surface. Dirk turned to swat at her, and she slid away into deeper water. "Fuckin' dick move, bitch scratched the shit out of my ear with her nail."

His drawl was more prominent now, voice heavy with sleep, and Jake rubbed his forehead but smiled lightly. "You near concussed me with that melon of yours, Dirk."

"Trust me, I know. That was not an ideal way to wake up," he agreed, then paused. "M'surprised you stayed."

"Why's that?" Jake asked, head tilting a little.

"Dunno, guess it's just not something I expected," Dirk glanced up at the sky, taking note of where the sun was. "We've been out for a couple hours."

"Yes, it's been quite a while," Jake agreed, feeling Dirk's cool fingertips smooth over his reddened skin. It was soothing against the developing sunburn, and Jake leaned into his touch with a little sigh. "Um, Dirk?"

The merman hummed in acknowledgment, eyes closed and hands rubbing gingerly over Jake's skin.

"When-- when we-- er, did-did that, you didn't--?" He started, only to stutter to a halt when Dirk's eyes opened halfway, a light smile on his face.

"Jake, it's not a big deal. You don't have to feel like you're obligated to do anything. That was a huge step for us both, don't rush it," he explained, leaning forward to press a chaste little kiss to Jake's lips. "Don't worry about me. I just wanted to make you feel good."

"That... seems a little unfair," Jake commented, though a flush rose to his cheeks at their conversation topic.

"I mean, if you want to that's fine, but I'm not gonna initiate that. I still don't really know the details and trauma is a tricky fuckin' subject. I don't want to unintentionally cause a repeat of an action or whatever and make you feel like you can't say no because you owe me or--" Dirk was starting to ramble, obviously nervous about making a mistake, hands moving a little faster where they rubbed Jake's skin. 

He caught one clawed hand by the wrist, bringing it to his face and watching Dirk drop into silence when he kissed the palm of it. "Dirk."

"Yeah?" Those bright eyes were trained on him, pupils blown impressively wide from the little show of affection.

"I'm not going to break, love. I may need to move a bit slower than most, but you needn't tiptoe around this because of it."

Dirk let out a pent up breath, fingers curling in toward his palm on the hand Jake held captive. "I know. Its just that this is different than kissing you or flirting. I don't want to do anything that fucker who hurt you did."

"Dirk," he said again, sighing when the merman's arm went a little limp in his grasp. "Listen, chum. The day I found you in my net, I strongly considered killing you as retribution-- closure for what I had gone through --but I couldn't. I couldn't because you are _you,_ not him. Had your tail been a sickly dark green with all sorts of colored accents I may very well have done it, but that's besides the point... you are not him and could never _be_ him or anything like him. That's why I trust you-- well, that and other reasons. But mainly because you are the way you are."

Dirk stared at him from their close proximity for a long moment, absolutely speechless, and Jake offered him a little smile.

"You're honestly unbelieveable," he finally replied, shaking his head. Jake puffed out a laugh, smacking Dirk's shoudler.

"That's it? Really, Strider?" He asked, and Dirk shrugged.

"I'm not great with words, dude. You know that."

"Well, you could at least _try."_

"What, you want me to wax poetic about trauma and healing and how you're _relearning how to love_?"

Jake shoved him back into the water, Dirk's resulting laughter swallowed by the ocean as his head broke the surface of the water.

_An absolute ass!_

∇

When Jake arrived home later in the day, the house was filled with palpable tension. He did his best to sneak past the living room where his grandmother sat, typing away rather aggressively, but her voice reached him just as he reached the stairs.

"Jake."

He cringed a little at the tone, at how calm the word was, and yet he knew it was nothing but a ticking time bomb, and his name was the lighting of the wick. "Yes, Grandma?"

"Come here a moment."

"Yes, Grandma," he managed again, more quietly this time, and headed over to stand nearby, too on edge to sit.

"Jake," she started again, glancing up at him from behind her thick, round lenses. They reflected the bright light from her computer screen, some kind of messaging application running on it. Words Jake couldn't quite make out cloud the clear glass, but he quickly refocused. "Is there something you'd like to share with me? About Jade, maybe? Something related to her safety-- something you failed to share and covered up for her, perhaps?"

Jake shrank back a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, Grandma, I may've figured you already knew, what with the two of us talking many times about flirting with our respective mermaids, and well within earshot--"

"Don't bullshit me, young man."

"Sorry, Grandma. I didn't want you getting upset with Jade and then having neither of us be allowed near the water," he admitted, watching as she closed her laptop and crossed her arms. "I should have said something, but it went over so badly when you found out about Dirk, I figured it would go over just as terribly a second time."

"Jake, honey," she said, sighing, "You have to understand where I'm coming from here. I'm not doing this to harass you or make things difficult, I'm trying to protect you and Jade. If I don't know what's going on, I can't help if something goes wrong."

Jake caught himself from saying _but nothing has!_ with the memory of Jade's shoulder.

"I know. I'm sorry," he said instead, and his grandmother gave a little nod.

"Don't think for a second that your little distraction this morning kept me from noticing the bandages on her shoulder."

Jake cringed a little at that, offering a sheepish smile. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh," she flipped the computer open again, glancing up to Jake. "Well, go on. That's it. You've heard me nag enough."

Jake made his getaway quickly, jogging up the stairs to the guest room. The door was locked.

"Jade?"

No answer. Jake frowned, knocking, and again there was no response. _She must be upset._

He retired to his own room, pausing to look out the window, squinting a little. Out by the rocks was Jade, jogging down to the shoreline and glancing back at the house every few seconds. Jake shook his head, eyes rolling, and decided there was no reason to raise the alarm.

He would simply insist he had no idea.


	18. Incoming

As Jade waited by the rocky shore for Roxy after escaping out the window, a new blonde appeared in the water.

"Sup."

She glanced at him, admittedly a little disinterested seeing as it wasn't her usual pretty pink-eyed babe, but she nodded nevertheless. "Hey."

"You don't really seem surprised," he commented, and she shrugged.

"Roxy mentioned something about having, like, two or three brothers so, not really," Jade admitted, and the siren gave a dramatic sigh.

"Man, how are both of them totally whipped? Y'all are food, Jesus Christ."

"Yeah?" Jade couldn't help the grin that nearly split her face in half at the exhasperation in his tone. "You never saw a pretty human and thought, 'damn I'd tap that'?"

"Course I have," he replied, rolling his bright red eyes. "Tapped plenty 'a human ass."

"Uh-huh."

"What's that supposed to mean? You doubting my ability to properly woo a bitch?"

"Yeah, kinda," she said, egging him on for fun. "I mean, come on. Look at you. You're a twig, you expect me to believe you totally aren't the one getting tapped?"

"Fuckin' _excuse_ you, Striders are beacons of sexuality and attractiveness. There's a wicked amount of sex appeal here that you're obviously blind to, for some goddamn reason. Sex appeal to the fuckin' moon up in this bitch, so much sexy in one body it's almost unreal."

"Seems like something a virgin would say," she teased, watching him drift a little closer with a look of complete despair at her words.

"Oh, come on, you seriously don't see it? You're bullshitting me, aren't you? This is some serious fuckin' gold I'm spilling right now, you should grab a pen and take some notes right about now. You're talkin to Dave muthafuckin' Strider, the second coolest of the Strider three-some, Dirk being the least cool, obviously, even though he tries to be stoic and dope like Bro, he's definitely not. Bro's the only person on this goddamn Earth-- both land and sea --that could ever one-up the cool factor I've got going on."

Jade grinned back at him, listening to the siren ramble on without comment.

"I'm, like, the dopest person you've ever met, and you don't even know it. I'm so fuckin' cool you can't even properly comprehend the sheer amount of majesty rolling off me in some hella massive waves. Not even ripples, these are straight up waves of fly, so freaky fresh and fast that Jimmy John's would be put to shame. The Strider trifecta of cool will be complete when Bro finally gets here and drags Dirk's stupid ass back to Texas, and then you'll have to recognize just how dope I am."

"Bro's coming here?" Jade asked, now a little more concerned. From what Jake had said, Dirk was less than thrilled to learn Dave and Roxy were here, so he'd be pissed if his older brother showed up too. "Okay, if I admit that you're kinda cool, will you tell me about Bro?"

"Oh, fuck, you don't even have to barter with me for me to spill everything about him. Bro is cool as fuck. The fly-est motherfucker you'll ever meet. He already knows where we are because he kinda followed Dirk and Rox, but figured she'd convince him to come back to the gulf. Guess that plan went to shit, huh? Whatever, Bro's totally gonna give Dirk a massive beat down and drag his dumb ass back home. Don't really know what Dirk's deal is, nothin' personal but humans are food. Have been for millennia, and Dirk's weird 'friends not food' hippie phase isn't gonna change that."

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait!" Roxy's voice broke through their conversation, the siren approaching at breakneck speed. "Bro's coming? You've gotta be shittin' me, he can't come here! We've gotta turn him around, fuck that!"

"He kinda thought you'd bring Dirk back and when you idiots didn't show up he sent me, but neither of you assholes ever listen to me," Dave replied, slinking back into the ocean a little.

"When's he s'posed to get here?" She sounded worried, and Jade listened quietly to the interaction, wanting to know what to tell Jake when she got home. "Is he bringing Rose? Or--"

"Nah. Not bringing anybody-- least I don't think he is. He's probably gonna wait out that storm before he heads over. Supposed to land in, I dunno, maybe three weeks? Its hitting the gulf first and then heading our way. So we've probably got at least two or three months, depending on if he's gonna try to get here before that does or if hes gonna wait. He'll probably wait. If he doesn't, it'll probably be next week."

"Fuckin' shit," Roxy hissed, "Gotta tell Dirk."

"He won't listen. He'd never believe in a million fuckin' years that Bro would go so far out of his way to drag him back home."

"Hang on, hang on," Jade interrupted, holding up a hand. "There's a tropical storm coming?"

"Yeah. Hurricane," Dave replied before turning back to Roxy. "You can tell him if you want, but he's gonna think you're lying."

Roxy started to respond, but looked up when Jade climbed to her knees.

"I'm-- gonna be right back," she said, standing, and turning on a heel. "Gotta let them know about the storm!"

"Are you coming back out?!" Roxy called as she dashed away, and Jade responded with a thumbs up as she headed home.

∇

Jake all but jumped out of his skin when Jade climbed through his window, kicking the screen in from the outside. He was sitting at his little desk with a book, and nearly tipped over when the screen toppled into his side table.

"Jade! What on earth are you d--?!"

"Dude, we've got a fucking _problem._ There's a hurricane coming, in, like, a few weeks! Dave said its gonna hit the gulf first and then come our way, and--"

"Have you told Grandma?!" He interrupted, scrambling out of his chair.

"Not yet, but I will, but--"

"We have to tell her, we need to move the boats and set up the hurricane shelter and board the windows and-- consarnit, Jade! Why now?!" He cried, upset at the timing. Just when everything was going wonderfully with he and Dirk, mother nature throws them a curve ball!

"Jake, hold up, listen--"

"If we only have a few weeks we have a lot to prepare for! Grandma's frog temple is going to be in trouble if we don't get it ready, and you know how much she loves her frogs!"

"Shut _up_ for a second!" She snapped, and he went quiet. "That's not the only thing. Dirk's got an older brother and he's coming too. Probably after the storm but we don't know for sure."

"Alright? I don't see what the issue is with that. His family seems pleasant, if a bit obnoxious."

"He's coming to bring Dirk back home."

Jake froze. "What?"

"Yeah. That's what I thought, too. Dave said he won't believe them if they tell him, so we should talk to him, I think. He'll listen to you, if you tell him you're concerned about it," Jade reasoned, and he nodded.

"I'll see if I can find Dirk, please tell Grandma about the storm. I'll be back later!" He decided to take the window route, figuring since the screen was already knocked out it might be faster. Just as Jade reached the door, he called her back again, "Oh! Jade?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell her about Dirk's brother, we'll figure it out on our own."

She nodded, and Jake picked his way down the tree, fast as usual, bare feet hitting the soft earth of the jungle path in what he thought must be record time. This was an odd time of day for him to look for Dirk, but if Roxy had been out, perhaps he could have her bring him to wherever the merman was hiding.

He made a mad dash down the rocky shore, sliding off a large rock and onto the beach to get there faster. When his feet hit the water, there was no one in sight. _Damn!_ Hadn't Roxy just been here? He waded out into the water, hoping to get either her or Dirk's attention, but there was nothing but calm swells. Even the rocks lining the little bowl of a beach seemed to not be taking as much of a beating from the waves as they usually did.

Jake reached waist deep water and stopped, waiting, watching the surf. A flash of pink caught his eye, and Jake glanced over in time to watch Roxy cut through the water toward him before surfacing.

"Jake! Jakey! Did Jade tell you what's going on?!" She called as she approached, expression concerned.

"Yes, do you know where Dirk is?" 

"Yeah! Yeah, do you want me to bring you over there? Hes not really in the mood to listen and thought I was bullshitting and he's ignoring Dave, too."

"Dave is red, correct?" He questioned, and she nodded. Okay. Now he had a name to the red siren.

"Yeah, do you want me to being you over there? He's on the other side of the island moping cause he thinks Dave is trying to get him to go home again."

Despite himself, Jake hesitated momentarily before nodding. _Its only Roxy. She promised she wouldn't do anything,_ he reminded himself, and she held out a hand to him.

"C'mon, maybe you can talk some sense into him, Di-Stri is so fuckin' stubborn sometimes."

"Do you really think he'll listen to me?" Jake asked as he took Roxy's hand.

"Dunno," she admitted, shrugging. "Worth a shot though."

Jake opened his mouth to respond, only to gasp for air as she pulled him into the water much faster than he anticipated. He barely managed to inhale before his head broke through the surface, eyes stinging un the saltwater. Upon consideration, he should have stopped to get goggles, and his shorts would likely be ruined by the end of this, but he didnt have much time to think about that with Roxy propelling them through the ocean much faster than Dirk ever had. He understood why with how he had to close his eyes, the water a violent pressure against them, and he could feel it moving around Roxy in a smooth current. She dragged him as though he weighed nothing, and he was actually dazed when she came to a stop in a ridiculously short time and pulled him to the surface.

He took a gasped breath in, brushing his wet hair out of his eyes, and almost immediately Dirk was on top of him, and again he was being pulled through the water. He heard Roxy laugh at the quick hand off, and when he glanced back, she was following after them.

Dirk gave a little squeeze to his arm in warning before diving beneath the surface, pulling him close so he could wrap an arm around Jake's waist. Thankfully, it was nowhere near the rocketing propulsion of Roxy's tail; still faster than usual, but not the breakneck speed of before.

Dirk took a sudden dive, pulling Jake along with him and into a little cave system they had never been to before. The tunnel was long and dark, and Jake watched as both he and Roxy began to glow to light their way.

They surface again shortly, a large, dark, underwater cavern stretched before them. It wasn't like the one he and Dirk had explored before; this one lead up to a flat rock floor, stalagmites hanging from the low roof and large rocks scattered throughout the cave. Jake was enraptured for a long moment, so much so that he didn't notice when Dave surfaced nearby until Dirk spoke.

"Okay. What's the bullshit panic about?" He asked, sounding exhasperated. "You can't seriously expect me to believe Bro is coming."

"Theres a hurricane coming, too," Dave replied, and Jake watched Dirk's expression sour.

"Fantastic."

"And Bro _is_ coming. Not till after the storm, probably, but we're about to have a fuckin' family reuinion up in this bitch."

"Still not buying that shit," Dirk told him, and Dave rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, you'll see when he gets here, bro."

Dirk mirrored his eyeroll, turning back to Jake. "You gonna be okay during the hurricane? Do you wanna stay with me?"

He's flabbergasted by the offer, stammering a little before managing, "N-no, that's alright, Strider. We've been through plenty and survived just fine."

Dirk seemed a little dejected but nodded, and Dave snorted at the reaction. "Fuckin' whipped."

"Sorry, which of us hasn't gotten laid in years? Cause it's not me."

"Well, fuck you too," Dave snapped, and Dirk opened his mouth for what Jake could only assume would be another scathing remark, but Roxy interjected.

"Hey, can we put off your lame sibling rivalry for, like, five minutes and be serious or are y'all gonna continue to act like five year olds all day?" She asked, and both brothers shot her an unimpressed look.

"Um, if I may," Jake began, nervous when all three looked over at him. "If your brother does come here, what does that mean for... us?"

"Means Dirk is gonna have to kick ass and take names or else he's gonna get dragged back to The Gulf with the rest of us," Dave glanced over at Dirk. "You've gotta beat Bro in a strife or you're fucked, dude."

"Fuck off. Bro's not coming. You guys should just go home and leave me the fuck alone. He wont come after me unless he needs to collect you assholes, too. Rose is probably freaking out."

"Rose doesn't freak out. She thinks you're a stupid bitch, though."

"Rose also doesn't talk like that. You're projecting," Dirk replied coolly.

"Yeah, well, we aren't leaving without you, that was the whole point of Bro sending me after your stupid ass."

"Speak for yourself," Roxy said. "I'm here because I want to make sure Dirk is safe. Also, I'm getting pussy so that's a nice perk."

The other three made disgruntled faces at the comment, and Dirk spoke up to change the subject. 

"Anyway, we should probably think about preparing for that storm."


End file.
